


Harry Styles-Wilson: Hockey Husband (Completed)

by BananaShark7 (PurpleCrayon)



Series: Harry Who? [2]
Category: Harry Styles - Fandom
Genre: Completed, F/M, Hockey, Sequel, Solo Harry Styles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-02
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-05-01 08:58:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 28,793
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14516946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleCrayon/pseuds/BananaShark7
Summary: When hockey player Ellie Wilson met Harry Styles in a book store late 2015, she never imagined they'd get married. Yet, two years later, the couple celebrated their first Christmas together as husband and wife. With Harry's solo career operating in full swing, the two had a busy life between touring, hockey, and working on the next album. Amidst all of that craziness, Ellie and Harry try to find time for themselves while settling into their roles and Mr. and Mrs. Styles-Wilson.(Also posted on wattpad and 1Dff, not stolen)





	1. Introduction/Recap

Harry rolled over in bed to turn the lamp off. “It’s nice to be back in our own bed again,” he said to Ellie and pulled her in close.

 

“I agree. I loved visiting your mom, but it’s nice to be home.” Ellie settled into his arms for the night, and started to feel her eyelids flutter shut with sleep, when Harry said her name.

 

“Ellie, you still awake?” He whispered.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Maybe because it’s Christmas, or maybe because my mom kept dropping hints, but um,” Harry paused. “I was wondering if, maybe, you’d thought about us, at some point, having children?”

  
  


* * *

 

Ellie Wilson had dreamed of playing professional hockey since she and her twin brother were kids. While her brother Scott fulfilled their childhood dream by playing in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ellie’s career was sidelined by a bad injury playing hockey in college. She ended up working nights in a bookstore in her hometown of Ottawa, thinking her career and life were going nowhere.

 

That is until a certain curly-haired, green-eyed member of One Direction walked into her bookstore and turned her life upside down. With Harry’s support, Ellie turned her life around and got back into playing hockey. She made it onto the roster of one of the four teams in the newly established National Women’s Hockey League, the New York Riveters, and Harry surprised her by buying the team. 

 

Harry surprised Ellie again, during an unexpected break in filming ‘Dunkirk’, and came back to New York to watch her play. Yet in doing so, he inadvertently distracted Ellie, causing her to take a rough hit which resulted in a bad concussion. For a moment, it seemed like Ellie may have lost some of her memory, even forgotten who her own boyfriend was. She looked right in his eyes and said ‘Harry who?’

 

And in that moment, Harry knew. 

 

He knew he would do whatever it took to keep her safe and by his side for the rest of his life (if she wanted to, of course). When it was clear Ellie had recovered her memory, and doctors assured Harry she would recover, he bought a ring and waited for the right moment to ask the question.

 

After a bit of drinking one night while working on his album in Jamaica, Harry did give her that ring - though not exactly the way he’d planned. Regardless, they were both very happy and hopeful for their future together. The next summer, before Harry’s tour started, they were married privately in a small ceremony, just family and close friends. 

 

Since then, they have managed to keep it a secret for the past few months, but they knew they were fighting a losing battle. Sooner or later it would get out that Harry Styles of One Direction was married, and if it did, Harry and Ellie would face it together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This first chapter was mostly a recap of ‘Harry Who?’ for those who haven’t read it, or needed a reminder on the details. Thank you for checking out the sequel, let me know what you think! : )


	2. Introduction/Recap

“I should have known that question was coming after all the baby pictures your mom showed us,” Ellie smiled to herself in the dark as she and Harry lay in bed together. “But, I honestly hadn’t thought about it beyond thinking that you would ask me.”

 

“You know me too well.” Harry replied. “But no rush or anything, I was just wondering.”

 

“Goodnight Harry,” Ellie said quietly and drifted off to sleep.

 

The next morning, Ellie and Harry returned from their usual morning run and hopped in the shower. As usual, Ellie took much longer than Harry in the shower, so when she emerged in the kitchen with a towel wrapped around her hair, she was not surprised to find Harry making breakfast for the both of them.

 

“Here’s your toast, love, just the way you like it,” Harry smiled and set a plate on the table for her, before joining her.

 

“Thank you,” she sat down and took a bite. “Is this a different kind of peanut butter?”

 

“Yeah, it’s, um, made with flaxseed oil.” Harry cleared his throat. “Flaxseed has those omega 3’s, and DHA...it’s supposed to be good for, you know, brain development.” He quickly took another bite of his food and avoided eye contact.

 

“Oh, for the concussion?” Elli motioned to her head. “Thank you!”

 

“Um, yeah, but also…” Harry bit his lips. “Remember that thing we talked about last night?”

 

It suddenly hit Ellie what Harry meant by ‘brain development’. She sighed and smiled at his enthusiasm. “Harry…”

 

“I might have jumped the gun a bit,” his cheeks pinkened a little, but he smiled.

 

“Just a bit. Don’t you think we should talk about it before you start sneaking pre-natal vitamins into my smoothies?” Ellie was joking, but at the same time, she knew how much Harry loved kids and that he just wanted her to be healthy.

 

“It’s not like that - I would never sneak anything into your food.” He held up his hands in defense and laughed to himself, realizing how this must look from her standpoint. “I just saw the flaxseed oil peanut butter at the store when I was out doing the shopping last week, and I thought I remembered reading something about flaxseed oil, and development, and babies…”

 

“Okay, first of all - since when do you go grocery shopping?” Ellie laughed, and Harry pretended to be offended.

 

“I go shopping all the time! I just wear like a hat and no one questions it,” he shrugged.

 

“Secondly, you bought this a week ago? So, how long have you been thinking about this?” Ellie asked, trying not to sound accusatory.

 

“Honestly? Well, there was that workshop the Riveters held for young hockey players this summer, and…” Harry paused. “I just couldn’t stop thinking about how adorable it would be to see you, one day, maybe, teaching our kids to play hockey.”

 

Ellie stared at him with her mouth half open for a moment, trying to wrap her head around that image. “That was nearly six months ago, Harry; we weren’t even married at that point.”

 

“I know, and I’m probably getting ahead of things, but that’s why I asked you about it last night.” Harry pushed the food on his plate around with his fork, not really feeling hungry anymore.

 

“Tell you what,” Ellie started after a moment. “I have a doctors appointment in a few weeks; if she says I can’t play hockey this season, we can talk about this some more then. But if I can, then we’ll have to delay that discussion until the end of the season. Obviously being pregnant does not mix with playing a contact sport like hockey.”

 

“Obviously.” Harry agreed and nodded.

 

“Does that sound okay?”

 

“Yeah,” Harry smiled. He knew Ellie was anxious to get back on the ice after taking the 2017 season off to deal with the concussion she had sustained at the end of the 2016 season. Of course he wanted her to be happy and for her to be healthy enough to play this summer, but he was eager to start his own family. Or at least, to plan on starting it. With his tour ending in mid-July this summer, he will have a bit of time off before starting the second album. But the second album includes repeating the writing/recording process, promoting the album, and probably another world tour. And then he could start on the third album and repeat the whole process all over again.

 

Of course, Harry loved making music more than anything, but this time around he had different priorities. He knew it was probably not possible (though not completely unlikely) that he would be able to plan his career around his family planning activities, but on top of that, the uncertainty of how much longer Ellie would be able to play hockey without sustaining a more permanent injury, complicated things as well.

 

Harry reminded himself that Ellie was much more important in this equation than he was, and played a much more crucial role. Technically, they could get pregnant at any point during the album making/promoting/touring process - that part was not difficult. The difficulty came in where they would be nine months from that point. Harry did not want to be on tour when he was expecting a baby - he didn’t think he could handle the stress of that, and he certainly didn’t want to leave Ellie on her own those last few months she couldn’t travel with him.

 

Most importantly, Ellie needed to be available. The hockey season was so short - just three months - that he wouldn’t want her to miss it. She might have to miss part of it, but if they planned it right, she might be able to keep playing after the baby was born. Right? Harry sighed and reminded himself this was all hypothetical - for now. At her doctor's appointment she would find out if she could even play hockey this season, or if she should consider retiring from playing permanently. After seeing how restless she was after missing last season, Harry hoped that would not be the case. Yet being the owner of a hockey team has its perks, and he was sure he could make her an assistant coach or something like that.

 

Harry’s question tumbled around Ellie’s head as she sat in the examining room waiting for the doctor. She wasn’t sure why she had needed to strip down and just wear one of those thin hospital gowns that don’t really cover anything, considering she was having her head checked out.

 

“Is this necessary?” She asked the nurse when she returned. “I thought I was just going to answer some questions about my concussion symptoms.”

 

“Well,” the nurse gave her a puzzling look. “The gown is so we can do a more comprehensive exam. You said you and your husband were thinking of having a baby…”

 

“I did?” Ellie sat up a little straighter and suddenly remembered blurting that out while the nurse had been taking her vitals at check in. “Yes, I did say that,” she added quietly.

 

“So, we were going to give you a more thorough examination,” the nurse explained and picked up her chart again. “Also, you don’t have your husband listed as your emergency contact, would you like to change that?”

 

Ellie shook her head. Despite there being laws prohibiting medical professionals from sharing patient information, she and Harry had been very cautious about keeping their marriage a secret and didn’t want to risk that information getting out on accident. Marriage records are publicly accessible, but unless they had a reason, no one would consider checking to see if Harry was married (or Ellie, for that matter). But, if he were listed as an emergency contact for a patient, a curious doctor might look up that marriage record, and if they were feeling particularly vindictive, leak it to the press.

 

Perhaps they were paranoid, but the few times they had been seen together left Ellie terrified at what his fans might do if they found out they were married. Most of them would probably be happy for them and wish them the best. Yet, there were a few more intense fans who might not take the news so gently. On top of that, Ellie did not want to be publicly known as ‘Mrs. Harry Styles’ - as much as was happy to be his wife, she was more than just the spouse of a pop-star.

 

Most importantly, she did not want to subject her potential future children to that same scrutiny. Even if they were able to keep their marriage a secret, adding a child to that equation complicated things even more. Ellie was almost positive Harry would be the one to accidentally leak that information - maybe getting their child’s name tattooed somewhere obvious, and not be able to stop himself when asked about it. She adored him for this kind of behaviour, though, and could not blame him for wanting to tell the world.

 

“In my professional opinion, you are in perfect health to try getting pregnant,” the doctor smiled and brought Ellie out of her thoughts.

 

“Okay,” Ellie sat up. “But can I play hockey?”

 

“Not while you’re pregnant, not,” the doctor looked surprised she would even ask that.

 

“No, I mean has the concussion healed enough for me to play this season?” Ellie restated her question.

 

“I think that’s something the neurologist will tell you,” the doctor answered, and Ellie realized this was the OB-GYN.

 

“Right,” Ellie nodded and blushed.

 

“You can get dressed now, and she will be in in just a moment,” the OB-GYN instructed, and Ellie hopped off the table to put her clothes back on.

 

The neurologists exam was much less awkward, and Ellie made sure to pay closer attention this time. She didn’t want to appear confused or distracted, in case the doctor took that as a symptom of her concussion.

 

As Ellie drove home, she tried to think of the best way to tell Harry the news. She was pretty sure she knew how he would react, but she still wanted to make sure they were alone - just in case.

 

Ellie made dinner for the two of them and had just set the table when Harry returned. She had hoped they would maybe eat first, but Harry got right to it.

 

“How was your doctor’s appointment?” He asked as soon as he saw her.

 

“It was good,” she his plate at his place and went back to the kitchen to grab something.

 

“And?” Harry followed her, a smile waiting on his lips for the news.

 

“Overall, they said I’m healthy, and I met with the neurologist,” Ellie grabbed something from a cupboard and paused.

 

“And,” Harry asked again.

 

“And I get to wear this again!” Ellie excitedly held up her New York Riveters jersey and smiled broadly, jumping with excitement.

 

“I’m so happy for you!” Harry enveloped her in a hug, and pushed away any conflicting thoughts.

 

 _‘We’ll postpone that other discussion a few more months, then…’_ he thought.

 

 


	3. Ellie and Harry Get Dinner

Harry and Ellie were out for their usual morning run one cold winter morning when they were unexpectedly ambushed by paparazzi. 

 

“Okay, I guess we’ll go home a little early today,” he quietly said to Ellie, but the paps started yelling questions at them. Usually, they were just directed at Harry, and Ellie was written off as his ‘personal trainer’ or even his bodyguard. While she didn’t necessarily like being called his bodyguard, she’d take that any day over what they were call her now: his wife.

 

“What?” she turned to Harry and saw he had the same shocked expression she did.

 

“Don’t acknowledge it, just keep going,” he answered quickly, and they continued jogging, perhaps a bit faster than before. 

 

They made it home shortly after and Harry was already on the phone with his manager.

 

“Jeff...they know.” He said, his jaw set and eyes alert.

 

Elli watched him as he listened to his manager, eagerly wondering what was going on. How much did they know? Who was ‘they’ exactly? Maybe these particular paparazzi just thought they’d joke and call Ellie Harry’s wife, just to see what he’d do?

 

“Okay, I’ll see you soon.” Harry hung up and slumped onto the couch next to Ellie. “He’s looking into it,” he answered her unasked question, and she nodded. Neither of them really knew what to say, so they hopped in the shower to get cleaned up before Jeff arrived.

 

Ellie took her time washing up. She didn’t want to get out of the shower and face whatever storm was coming now that it was out that Harry Styles was married. She didn’t know if her name had been attached to this news yet, but she figured someone (whether the media or an avid fan) would dig that up soon enough. When she was finally dressed, she joined Harry and Jeff downstairs.

 

“I just don’t get it...why now?” Harry asked, and Jeff shrugged.

 

“I don’t know; we’re trying to track down the leak, but can you think of anyone who knew about it, who you might have pissed off recently?” Jeff asked, and Harry snorted a laugh.

 

“I hope not, I mean, it was just our close family and friends at the wedding.” He looked up to see Ellie standing in the doorway, and motioned for her to sit next to him. “What about you, love - piss off any relatives lately?”

 

“My aunt Celia still thinks I should have gone to beauty school, like her, instead of playing hockey,” Ellie smiled, but she really wasn’t in the joking mood.

 

“I was thinking, perhaps, people who weren’t guests…” Jeff clarified, and there was a noticeable mood change.

 

“Oh.” Harry stared for a moment. “Like, an employee?”

 

“Or, former employee,” Ellie added, and suddenly Jeff and Harry seemed to realize what might have happened.

 

“He wouldn’t have….” Harry said in disbelief.

 

“He signed an NDA, they all did, so if it was him we could take legal action.” Jeff explained.

 

“Who are you talking about?” Ellie asked, and looked between Jeff and Harry for an explanation.

 

Jeff was already on his phone making calls, so Harry filled in the details. “Someone who worked in PR, we had to let go recently - we were just downsizing a bit, it was nothing personal. I can’t imagine why he’d do something like this.”

 

Ellie could feel her cheeks turning crimson. She knew they couldn’t keep their marriage a secret forever, but never imagined someone from their (his) own team would betray them like this. 

 

“They’re looking into Howard now, but I guess word around the office was that he needed money.” Jeff returned and was already dialing another number before he finished his explanation. “I’m going to check our sources to see how much they know. Then we can decide if we should work on damage control, or try to take it into our own hands and release the information ourselves.”

 

Ellie and Harry both froze at that last statement, and slowly turned to look at each other. “Like, we should come out, and publicly announced that we’ve secretly been married for six months?” Ellie swallowed hard and couldn’t slow her racing heart.

 

“It would be better than denying it, and later getting caught in a lie,” Harry shrugged, and tried to seem calm for her, but he was just as ill at ease as she was. Harry reached over and put his hand on his wife’s, feeling her wedding band beneath his fingers. “Perhaps it’s time we share this with the world.”

 

“I don’t know if I’m ready,” Ellie answered quietly.

 

“Will we ever be?” Harry replied. “We’ve had six months to ourselves, and we knew this kind of privacy would never last - now’s as good a time as any.”

 

Ellie was deep in thought and didn’t respond. She wasn’t ready to give up the freedom of being able to hop into the grocery store whenever she wanted - even though Harry claimed he went to the store all the time - and she couldn’t imagine the reactions of her friends back home, or her teammates. ”Oh!” Ellie turned to Harry. “Do you think it’ll get out that you own the Riveters?”

 

“I should hope not, why?” He cocked his head.

 

“Because, it would look like nepotism - like I’d only made the team because I was your wife.” Ellie frantically explained.

 

“I don’t think you’re giving yourself quite enough credit, dear. I think it’ll be clear to them you’ve made the team all on your own.” Harry tried to reassure her. “We’ll worry about that when we come to it. For now, I’ll just be the supportive husband, watching his wife play hockey from the sidelines.”

 

Ellie smiled at the thought of Harry sitting in the stands cheering her on, instead of hiding in the upper levels of the arena in a darkened room to keep his anonymity safe. Ellie looked at her phone, and so far she had not received any surprised friends who’d heard she was married to Harry Styles of One Direction. “I guess that’s a good sign,” she said after explaining this to Harry. “I can only imagine the team’s reaction!” She was already blushing at the teasing she knew she would get from her teammates once word got out - friendly teasing, of course.

 

When someone from Harry’s team finally tracked down Howard, he’d admitted to leaking the information for money to settle some debts. Harry did not like the sound of this, and didn’t hesitate to tell his legal team to go after him for breaking the NDA.

 

“Seriously, this is beyond just being malicious - it’s illegal,” he vented, and Ellie felt the same way.

 

“I’m going to kick his ass,” she said between her teeth, and Harry’s jaw suddenly unclenched, and a smirk started to form on his lips.

 

“I like you when you’re feisty,” he said in a low voice.

 

Ellie’s anger broke for a moment and she laughed. “That’s what you think of in a moment like this?”

 

Harry shrugged, and continued to smirk. “Sorry, I’m easily distractible,” he leaned closer and surprised her by kissing her neck.

 

“So, did we at least find out if he leaked my name to the press?” Ellie tried to keep Harry on track.

 

“I don’t think he did,” Harry answered, trying to steal another kiss.

 

“Actually,” Jeff entered from the other room and turned on the tv. “It seems to have gotten out.”

 

_ “It was recently discovered through an inside source that former One Direction star Harry Styles married in secret last summer to hockey player Ellie Wilson. The couple had been seen together a few times over the past few years, and many speculated they were together, but nothing was confirmed until recently…” _ A well dressed news presenter spoke, next to a picture of Harry and Ellie years ago at the airport together.

 

“Shit…” Ellie swore, and felt like the floor had just disappeared under her feet. She heard Jeff and Harry talking, but did not comprehend a word they said.

 

“We were going to go out tonight anyway, maybe we should just go public? Just go in the front door like everyone else, let them see us together?” Harry suggested. 

 

“What?” Ellie finally focused and realized they were both looking at her.

 

“We were going to go out to dinner, for my birthday? It’s today, you know.” Harry eyed her curiously and worried some of her concussion symptoms had returned.

 

“Of course this would happen on your birthday,” Ellie sighed.

 

“It would be the perfect time for us to go public, really,” Harry replied.

 

“It’s true, you were going out anyway, so it doesn’t look like you’re responding to the leak, instead just continuing on with your normal lives.” Jeff agreed, and Ellie realized she was outnumbered.

 

“I guess...I just think I need more time to prepare. What if they want to talk to me?” She asked.

 

“Who? The paparazzi? They always ask questions, but they’re just there to take picture. Just let Harry do the talking,” Jeff glanced at Harry, and he nodded. He knew what to say in this situation from years of media training, and more specifically, from months of practicing how he’d respond to the question ‘how does it feel to settle down and be a married man?’ He was ready for it, and almost couldn’t wait to brag about how awesome his wife was, and how happy they were together.

 

With an almost smug smile on his lips, Harry sat in the back seat next to his wife as the two rode to the restaurant together that nigh. They had security, as usual, but as precaution they brought more than normal. They weren’t as worried about the paparazzi as much as the fans, perhaps an angry fan not wanting to accept Harry was married and now unavailable. So far the fan support online had been very positive, and this calmed Ellie a little. 

 

As expected, there were cameras waiting for them as they pulled up to the restaurant. Their bodyguard opened the door and Harry stepped out first, smiling brightly as the paparazzi threw questions at them - ranging from wishing him a happy birthday, to asking about their secret wedding. He moved out of the way and helped Ellie out of the car, showing off his wife publicly for the first time. 

 

It was an odd moment for Harry. He felt proud to finally show her off to the world, yet at the same time, he knew she was losing her anonymity. She was becoming ‘someone’ whether she wanted to or not - but that was one of the risks of marrying Harry Styles.

 

“Ellie!” They shouted, and she tried to smile and look confident. “Show us the ring!”

 

Her left hand was entwined with Harry’s, and he held up her hand to show off the beautiful engagement ring he’d given her in Jamaica, with the wedding band right beneath it. He couldn’t help but feel happy, and saw her smiling back at him. The pair walked hand in hand into the restaurant, where they were escorted to a private room so they could dine in private. It was only then that Ellie remembered to breath.

 

“That was…” she sat, blinking away the camera flashes. “Bright.”

 

Harry laughed and sat across from her. He pulled out his phone, and someone had sent them a picture taken just moments earlier. “It’s already online.” He smiled at the picture of he and Ellie showing off the ring and passed his phone to Ellie.

 

“At least you look good. I look like I’ve had stroke or something,” she laughed. “I guess I need to practice smiling in the mirror.”

 

“Nonsense, love, you look beautiful, as always,” Harry smiled and reached over to hold her hand.

 

“Thank you,” she slid his phone back to him. “I feel awful this had to happen on your birthday.”

 

“I think it turned out quite well,” he smiled.

 

“Well, happy 24th birthday Harry,” Ellie leaned across the table to kiss him. “I love you.”


	4. Harry and Ellie Visit Korea

Ellie woke up to a constant buzzing from her phone, and checked to see who was calling. But it was not a call, just a constant stream of text notifications.

 

_ *You’re married??!?!!? _

 

_ *Is this real? There’s no way you’re married to Harry Styles _

 

_ *Did April fools come early this year? _

 

_ *Seriously, this has to be a different Ellie Wilson who plays hockey for the Riveters _

 

Text after text from people she’d known through all walks of life flooded her phone looking for confirmation on her nuptials to the pop-star. 

 

“I think it’s time you got a new phone number,” Harry tiredly joked as he got up. 

 

“I definitely agree.” She scrolled through the messages, laughing at a few and cringing at others. Who knew her former classmates had such an opinion of Harry? “Should I respond to them?”

 

Harry shrugged and slid out of bed. “If you want, but I think we definitely confirmed it was true last night. You want some coffee?” He asked before slipping out of their bedroom.

 

“Yes please!” She called after him and continued scrolling until she got to one that actually mattered.  _ ‘Oh shit…’  _  she thought and opened the text.

 

_ *I didn’t think you were the marrying type, but congratulations _

 

Ellie sighed and leaned back in bed. It had been quite a while since she’d run into her ex at a hockey game in New York while visiting Harry, and since then she had realized perhaps they didn’t end their relationship on the terms she’d thought they had. At the time, she thought he dumped her because she wouldn’t move to the states with him so he could pursue his hockey career. He never said it, but a move like that implied he thought they would have a more permanent relationship after that point. At the time (nearly four years ago exactly) Ellie would have been all for that - she and Glen had been together since freshman year of college, and that was the next logical step.

 

Yet, Ellie stayed behind, and Glen moved to the US to play hockey, inevitably ending their relationship - or so Ellie thought. Ellie later learned from her brother (and her ex’s best friend at the time) that Glen thought they were going to try to work things out long distance. When Ellie appeared distant, and didn’t return his calls, Glen realized something was up. But the real deal breaker came when he saw she’d gone on a date with another guy just weeks after he’d left. Disappointed and angry, he didn’t even confront her, just left her with the message that he didn’t want to see her ever again.

 

Ellie shook her head at that memory, realizing how wrong she’d gotten it. How could she have gotten it so backwards? Sure, she and Glen didn’t have the perfect relationship, but, what relationship is perfect?

 

Harry appeared in the doorway with their coffee, almost as if answering her unasked question.  _ ‘Okay, some relationships are perfect’ _ she thought and smiled as he handed her a mug of coffee. “Thank you,” she kissed his cheek as he climbed back into bed to snuggle with her. At that moment, with Harry’s head resting on her shoulder - feeling his hair tickling her neck - Ellie promised to never mess up that ‘perfect’ relationship, no matter what it took. 

 

“I have a surprise for you,” Harry interrupted Ellie’s mental vow. “Sort of an early Valentine’s Day present.”

 

“Oh?” Ellie had forgotten all about that upcoming holiday - but of course it was always two weeks after Harry’s birthday. 

 

“Have you ever been to Korea?” He sat up and asked.

 

“North or South?” Ellie asked, knowing it was a dumb question. 

 

“I’d be impressed if you’d been to North Korea. Also a little concerned, maybe,” Harry added and crinkled his brow.

 

“I haven’t been to either. Why?”

 

“Well,” Harry smiled. “We are going to Pyeongchang to watch the Olympics.”

 

Ellie’s eyes shot open and she nearly dropped her coffee in excitement. “Oh my god Harry thank you!!” She lurched forward to hug him, and he carefully took her mug and placed it on the side table. “I’ve never been to the Olympics before - even when they were in Canada. This is so awesome!!!”

 

Harry grinned at his wife’s excitement and she seemed to radiate happiness. “I’m interested in seeing the curling - I have no idea what it is, but it sounds fascinating.”

 

“I can explain curling to you, don’t worry. I’m Canadian, it’s something we know,” Ellie joked. “Personally, I of course want to see the women’s hockey, but the men’s hockey is going to be very interesting. The NHL is not allowing its player to participate, and with Russia out of the games altogether, that means some lower level league or college hockey players get to represent their countries. It should be pretty interesting!”

 

“No NHL? That’s too bad, so Scott won’t be playing?” Harry asked sympathetically.

 

“Umm…” Ellie laughed. “I don’t think he would have been playing anyway. No offence to my bro, but there are A LOT of really good Canadian hockey players that would probably make the cut before him.”

 

“Oh,” Harry nodded. He felt like he was still figuring out the game of hockey, despite owning his own hockey team and being married to a hockey player. “That makes sense.”

 

The two finished up their coffee and elected not to take their usual morning run. The paparazzi would surely be waiting for them, and honestly it was a little cold. It was so much easier to stay at home in bed together until Harry had to leave for rehearsal or something regarding his upcoming arena tour, leaving Ellie alone with her thoughts. 

 

Those thoughts mainly consisted of what the heck she was going to get Harry for Valentine’s Day that could even remotely compare to him taking her to the Olympics. After Christmas and his birthday, she’d always run out of ideas by Valentine’s Day, and knew she couldn't get him yet another watch. Does Harry even wear watches? What does someone get one of the biggest pop-stars in the world, who could clearly buy himself anything he wanted?

 

There was, of course, one thing Harry wanted more than anything, and no amount of money could buy it. Yet, Ellie was not ready for that, and Harry knew that, so she brushed that thought aside. 

 

She spent the rest of the day avoiding that thought, while simultaneously trying to come up with a Valentine’s Day gift. After racking her brain all day, she gave up by the time Harry got home, and the two hopped in the shower together. It was there in the shower - as they were soaping up each others bodies - that an idea came to her.

 

A week later, Harry had just finished up packing for their trip and closed his suitcase, when he realized Ellie’s suitcase was still empty. He remembered their first Christmas together, when he gave her that suitcase full of new clothes because she was too stubborn to let him buy nice things for her. He smiled at the memory, and almost didn’t hear her come home.

 

“Oh, hey!” She stopped abruptly in the doorway to their room when she saw him. “I thought you’d be out.”

 

“We finished rehearsal early, so I came home to pack. Looks like I beat you to it…” He grinned teasingly.

 

“Sorry, I’ve been busy,” she smiled, and grabbed her suitcase to start packing.

 

“I’m going to jump in the shower, want to join me?” Harry bit his lip, but Ellie ignored his advances.

 

“No thanks, I already showered.” She smiled, and dragged her suitcase into the closet to pack. They had an early flight, so she was in bed, asleep, by the time Harry got out of the shower, so he quietly joined her in bed, being careful not to wake her.

 

It was a very long flight to Korea, so Ellie took the opportunity to fill Harry in on the basics of curling, and answered all his questions. By the time they landed, they were both tired, and headed to their hotel to get some sleep before the opening ceremony. Despite their tiredness due to the time change, Ellie was nearly bouncing she was so excited. Harry was happy just to see her like this - she was like a kid on Christmas morning.

 

“Oh my god, Canada’s next,” she grabbed his arm as the Canadian athletes paraded into the arena. She rattled off as many names of athletes she could recognize - including a few of her teammates from the Riveters. “I always hoped to play in the Olympics one day, but, that’s probably not going to happen.” 

 

She looked happy, but Harry sensed a tinge of regret in her voice. It wasn’t her fault that she’d had two career-ending injuries, but like anyone she occasionally thought ‘what if…?’

 

As they returned to their hotel, Ellie looked pretty tired, even though she would never admit it, and let Harry carry her once they got to the hotel. “Time for sleeping beauty to get to bed,” he said softly as the reached their door. “Actually, can you help me with the door first?”

 

“Yeah, let me find my key-card,” Ellie tried to reach for it in her pocket, but Harry’s hand was in the way. “Can you grab it out of my pocket for me?”

 

“This is teamwork at it’s best,” he joked as he slipped his hand into her pocket and retrieved the room key. “What’s this?”

 

“What?” Ellie asked as she unlocked the door and pushed it open.

 

“Is that a bandage?” He asked and carried her into their room, kicking the door shut behind them. 

 

“Where?” Ellie tiredly asked, trying to figure out what he was talking about.

 

“Here, on your hip,” Harry gently set her on the bed. “Did you get hurt?” He asked, and looked back up at her with concerned eyes as he sat next to her on the bed.

 

“Um,” Ellie started to smile. “No.”

 

“What is this?” He was so confused now, and started to unbutton her jeans to get a better look at this bandage on her hip.

 

“It was going to be a surprise, but…” Ellie kicked her shoes off and let him remove he jeans completely. “Looks like we’re both getting our Valentine’s Day presents a little early this year.”

 

Harry’s lips were curled into a curious smile now that he knew she wasn’t hurt. He traced his fingers around the bandage. “Do you want me to take it off?”

 

“Okay, but be careful, so we can put it back on again,” she instructed him, sitting up just enough so she could see his reaction.

 

His eyes flicked back up to her before starting to peel the bandage off. “Oh my god,” he stopped and laughed once he realized once it was, before taking the rest of it off. “So this is what you’ve been hiding from me,” Harry grinned. 

 

“Now we match,” Ellie smiled back at her husband, who seemed at a loss for words as he looked over the tattoo on her hip, that was identical to the crossed hockey sticks he had on his own hip. 

 

“I can’t believe you got a tattoo,” he finally said. “This really means a lot to me, love.”

 

“I’m relieved to hear that, because it was fucking painful!” Ellie laughed.

 

“Does this mean you don’t want to get any more?” Harry asked and raised his eyebrow in amusement.

 

“Maybe not on the hip,” Ellie replied.

 

“Yeah, the hip hurts,” he carefully put the bandage back over the crossed hockey sticks. “I kind of wanted to be there for your first tattoo. Maybe we’ll have to get another one, for our anniversary or something.”

 

“That would be nice, as long as it’s small and not somewhere that hurts. She said you shouldn’t get a tattoo somewhere that you’re ticklish, because it’ll hurt more.”

 

“Like, here?” Harry reached back to her bare foot and ran his index finger along the bottom, causing Ellie to spasm and laugh as he tickled her.

 

“No, stop!” She laughed and tried to kick him away, but he climbed on top of her, pinning her to the bed beneath him.

 

“What about here, are you ticklish here?” he reached for her sides, and again, Ellie laughed and tried to escape his grasp.

 

“Stop it Harry!” She shrieked, but only encouraged his tickle attack. She pushed him, and reversed their positions, so she was on top tickling him.

 

“Damn, sometimes I forget how strong you are,” he shook his head as he watched her try to decide where to tickle him first.

 

“Hockey is a pretty physical sport,” Ellie replied, and her eyes started to get dark. “You know what else is pretty physical?”

 

Harry waited for the tickling to start, but was startled when Ellie’s lips collided with his own.

 

“That’s one way to stop a tickle fight,” he joked, but she was already working on getting his clothes off.

  
  
  



	5. Harry and Ellie Watch a Hockey Game

Women’s hockey was of course number one on Ellie’s agenda, and Harry was happy to oblige. The most anticipated match was Canada vs. US, and they bought matching ‘team Canada’ shirts to wear to the match. A couple of Ellie’s teammates were playing on both teams, but she and Harry had to cheer for team Canada.

 

It was a very exciting matchup, and the game was tied going into the last period. Ellie was on the edge of her seat with anticipation, and almost didn’t notice someone approaching them. 

 

“Sorry to bother you, but can I have a picture?” A young girl asked. It was a fan -of Harry’s, of course- and Ellie should have realized this would happen in a public place like this. When someone asked for a picture when they were out, Ellie usually stepped aside and let Harry take a selfie with the fan, so she started to get up.

 

“Would you like me to take it for you?” She offered and held her hand out for the fan’s phone.

 

“Actually, I wanted a picture with you,” the fan answered and smiled at Ellie. Ellie and Harry exchanged an amused glance, before Harry jumped up.

 

“I guess I’ll take the picture, then.” He had a cheeky grin as the fan handed over her phone and cozied up next to Ellie for a picture.

 

“Are you a Riveters fan?” Ellie asked when the picture was done.

 

“Yeah, and you’re one of my favorites - you and Amanda Kessel. I missed you last season, will you be back this year?” She asked.

 

“I will, and I hope to see you at a few games!” Ellie smiled, and the girl shyly waved goodbye before returning to her seat.

 

Ellie settled back into her seat and tried to focus on the game, but was still a little dazed by her first fan interaction, and Harry laughing beside her was distracting. “What’s so funny?” She asked him.

 

“Was that your first fan picture?” He grinned.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Harry burst out laughing again. “That was adorable.”

 

“You’re just jealous,” she teased. “Admit it, you thought she wanted a picture with you.”

 

“I did, but I’m happy to be the one taking the pictures instead of being in them.” He smiled, and almost looked a little proud. “You’ve got a fan!”

 

“Yeah, but that’s a good thing, right? Maybe she plays hockey and wants to play in the NWHL some day. I should have asked her that. Next time I’ll try to remember that.” Ellie got a bit anxious when she realized there might be -and probably would be- a ‘next time’, and this was probably just the first in many fan photos. The National Women’s Hockey League had become more popular over the last two years, and now that she was Harry Styles’ wife, she assumed she might get a few more fans now that that information was public. 

 

The game ended in a win for Canada, setting them up to play Sweden in the gold medal game in a few days. Ellie met up with a few of her Riveters teammates to go out to celebrate. Harry tagged along as well, and Ellie was happy to show him off to her teammates.

 

“So, this is the new husband?” Her teammate asked, well into her second or third drink of the night, and held out her hand to introduce herself to Harry. “I’m Becca, I play defence, number 12 on the Riveters.”

 

“Lovely to meet you, I’m Harry-”

 

“We know,” Becca and a few others giggled. 

 

“So, will we see you at any of our games this summer?” Anna, the Riveters goalie, asked.

 

“Yeah, as soon as my tour finishes up, I’d like to get to as many as possible,” Harry smiled.

 

“Oh, you’re on tour? I thought One Direction was taking a break…” Becca tilted her head in confusion.

 

“No, dumbass, he’s on his own now; he released an album last year, remember?” Anna smacked her friend’s arm, but Becca still looked confused.

 

“No…?” 

 

“You’ll have to excuse my teammate, she doesn’t keep up with these kinds of things.” Anna explained very matter-of-factly.

 

“That’s quite alright,” Harry smiled politely. “Why don’t I get us another round of drinks?” He asked, and they all nodded.

 

“So,” Becca asked after Harry left. “What’s he like?”

 

“He’s….” Ellie shrugged. “Normalish, I guess?”

 

“No, I mean,  _ what’s he like? _ ” Becca repeated her question and raised her eyebrow to not very subtly hint the intention of her question.

 

“Becca!” Ellie laughed and gave her a playful punch in the arm.

 

“Hey, I’m not your punching bag.” Becca complained and rubbed her arm where Ellie and Anna had hit her.

 

“But really, how could you be married to Harry-freaking-Styles without anyone knowing? How long has this been going on?” Anna asked.

 

“We met in 2015, got engaged a year later, and then got married last summer.” Ellie didn’t know what else to say.

 

“But like, how? How do you even meet someone like him?” Becca asked.

 

Ellie shrugged. “He just came into the bookstore I worked at, and that was it, kinda.”

 

“Just like that?” Becca was still bemused.

 

“Pretty much, yeah.”

 

“That’s so normal, though.” Becca sighed and almost sounded disappointed. 

 

“We’re regular people, you know,” Ellie laughed.

 

“You are, but him?” Anna shrugged. “He dated Taylor Swift! How do you go from her, to you?”

 

“Thanks,” Ellie said sarcastically. “And he didn’t like, dump her for me. There were a few years, and a few other people, in between.”

 

“I hate to ask, since you’re a little younger than me and maybe you’re not at the point in your life that you’re even thinking about this, but,” Anna leaned in to finish her question quietly, so she didn’t have to shout it in the loud bar. “Are you guys gonna have kids?”

 

Ellie’s face probably said it all, but she tried to keep her annoyance at hearing that question frequently out of her tone. “Ummm….someday?”

 

“Hopefully not anytime soon; Kennedy is having a kid, so she’s out this summer, and Laura and her husband are apparently trying for one, so she’s probably out too. We’re running out of players! And we need a good defensemen like you to keep Becca here on task.” Anna shot a teasing look at her teammate, and this time it was Becca’s turn to jab her in the arm with her elbow.

 

Suddenly, Harry reappeared with their drinks, and Becca completely forgot about whatever they were talking about. She grabbed her drink and held it up for a toast. “To… to Canada!”

 

They all clinked glasses, and Harry gave Ellie a furtive look that said he’d heard her and Anna’s conversation. They hadn’t talked about it much since they decided to wait until the end of the hockey season to figure out the specifics, yet this subject kept creeping back into their lives one way or another. Most recently, it was a tabloid who published an unflattering picture of Ellie wearing Harry’s favorite Green Bay Packers hoodie. They speculated that she was ‘hiding something’ by wearing loose fitting clothes, but really she had grabbed his hoodie on her way out because it was cold and she loved how soft it was.

 

They joined up with the rest of team Canada, and a few other people, before getting yet another round of drinks (and another toast to Canada, of course). Soon, most of the athletes started to turn in for the night because they either had a game or practice the next day. Harry and Ellie assisted Anna with carrying Becca back to her room, and then they also decided to call it a night. 

 

On their way out of the Olympic village, where all the athletes stayed, the pair ran into one of Ellie’s American teammates, Amanda Kessel. Amanda had also been out for a year with a concussion, similar to Ellie, so the two were the face of the NWHL player safety campaign and knew each other pretty well. Yet, not well enough for Amanda to know about her secret marriage to Harry.

 

“Hey!” Amanda shouted when she spotted her teammate. It was clear Amanda had also hit up a bar, but perhaps not in celebration as Ellie and team Canada had been. She came up to them with a glazed look in her eye and embraced Ellie. “What’re you doing here?”

 

“Watching the Olympics!” Ellie answered.

 

“Well, I suppose if you’re not playing, watching is as the second best thing,” Amanda replied, and giggled to herself.

 

“Yes, I suppose. Harry was kind enough to get us tickets,” Ellie smiled at Harry, then back at her teammate again.

 

“You’ll make the team next time, I’m sure!” Amanda smiled back. “So, this is him?”

 

“Yes, this is my husband,” Ellie laughed to herself, and Harry smiled beside her.

 

“I’m Harry, nice to meet you,” he introduced himself politely, and Amanda blushed.

 

“Oh, I know who you are. Congratulations, I’m happy for you,” she smiled.

 

“Thanks,” Ellie said, and smiled back at her teammate.

 

“I should get going, but it was a nice seeing you.” Amanda gave her another hug. “Can’t wait to have you on the team again this season!” She called back to Ellie as she left.

 

Harry and Ellie waved at her, and continued walking back to their hotel.

 

“She seems very nice,” Harry finally said. 

 

“She is.” Ellie agreed. “Probably the person on the team I’m closest too.”

 

“I can’t wait to get to know your teammates better,” Harry smiled, and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they strolled. “Now that we don’t have to keep this a secret, I can actually be involved in your life like a normal husband.”

 

“How so?”

 

“As soon as my tour ends, I’m going to all your home games, and maybe even the away games -if that’s not too much. I’ll get Riveters jersey to wear to each game, and bring a poster that says ‘I love Ellie Styles-Wilson’!” Harry grinned, but Ellie didn’t seem quite as amused as he did. “They do, that, right? Fans bring signs to games, right?”

 

“Yeah, sometimes,” she smiled, but not as brightly as Harry was smiling back at her.

 

“What is it?” He sensed something was off.

 

“Nothing, I just….I hadn’t really thought about changing the name on the back of my jersey.” Ellie explained, and Harry’s smile melted a little.

 

“Why not? We legally changed our last names to ‘Styles-Wilson’ when we got married, why would you keep ‘Wilson’ professionally?”

 

“Are you going to release your next album under the name ‘Harry Styles-Wilson’?” Ellie replied, and stopped to look him in the eyes.

 

Harry’s eyes darted back and forth between hers as he realized she had a point. Yet, Harry was stubborn, and realized if he was going to ask her to professionally change her name, then he should do the same. “Yes,” he said quietly and nodded, a smile forming on his lips. “Absolutely.” The smile grew until the corners of eyes eyes crinkled, and Ellie watched him skeptically, but he seemed genuine. 

 

Being equally stubborn, Ellie smiled back. “Then, you can expect to see ‘Styles-Wilson’ at the bottom of my Riveters’ jersey this season.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ellie’s teammates mentioned in this chapter (except Amanda Kessel) are fictional because most of the Riveters roster is actually American, which I did not realize, oops!


	6. Valentine's Day

Harry was not sure how Ellie would feel about this. “Are you sure?” He asked, and the PR representative from his team nodded.

 

“It’s Valentine’s Day, and people would love to see it - if you’re okay sharing it, of course.” They explained, and Harry thought about it a bit more before nodding and parting ways. As he returned to their hotel room, he tried to think of the best way to bring this up to Ellie. Should he ask her, or just tell her he’s going to do it?

 

No, he thought as he shook his head, he has to ask her. They’re in this together now, and he didn’t want to ruin their first Valentine’s Day together as a married couple by doing something she wouldn’t want.

 

“Harry!” Ellie jumped up and ran over to him with a big smile when he returned. “There you are; I woke up and you were gone.” She gave him a kiss and returned to the table where breakfast was waiting.

 

“I woke up early, and headed to the gym for a bit.” Harry sat down and inspected the food with curiosity.

 

“Local food,” Ellie explained. “I figured we should try some while we’re here.”

 

Harry nodded. “That’s a good idea. So, it’s Valentine’s Day,” he paused, and Ellie smiled brightly again.

 

“Yes! I’m excited! I know we already exchanged gifts - well, kinda,” she laughed, since the tattoo she had gotten for him was still on her hip, and they wouldn’t be exchanging either of the gifts they’d gotten for each other. “But, I still want today to be special. Did you have anything planned?”

 

Harry thought for a moment, thrown off course by her question. “Maybe, um, like dinner?”

 

“Dinner would be nice, I don’t know if you want to go out or not.” What Ellie really meant was,  _ can _ he go out -  just the two of them. At each Olympic event, they’d been accompanied by a security guard who kept a respective distance, and if they went out with any of Ellie’s teammates, the crowd they were with usually didn’t notice or care that he was there. But if they went out on their own, somewhere away from the Olympics, they (he) might get noticed.

 

“I have had my eye on a place, actually,” Harry answered, and the start of a smirk formed on his lips. “You know the song ‘Gangnam Style’?”

 

“I don’t live under a rock, Harry,” Ellie teased. 

 

“Well, you didn’t know who I was when we met,” he retorted, and smiled teasingly.

 

“I’m still not entirely sure who you are…” Ellie joked, but Harry’s smile wavered, and his eyes lost a bit of their glimmer. “Oh...too soon?” Ellie’s smile melted when she realized why Harry reacted that way.

 

Harry didn’t think he’d ever forget the look in her eyes - the lack of recognition - as she looked up at him in the ambulance after hitting her head during a game, and with blank eyes asked ‘Harry who?’ But he wasn’t going to let that ruin their day, so he shook his head and forced a smile. “No, you’re here now,” he reached over to place a hand on the side of her face and tapped her temple with his index finger. “Well, mostly,” he teased, and ran his thumb across her cheekbone before removing his hand. 

 

“Very funny,” Ellie said sarcastically. “So, anyway, you want to have a Gangnam style Valentine’s Day?” Ellie was confused. 

 

“Kind of,” Harry laughed. “It’s actually an area in Seoul, and I thought it would be fun to spend the day there.”

 

“It would be nice to see other parts of South Korea while we’re here.” Ellie agreed. 

 

“We could be tourists,” Harry smiled, and added, “together.”

 

“So, you can go out like a regular person?” Ellie asked.

 

“I’ll wear a hat,” Harry shrugged.

 

“Not that hat you always wear - everyone recognizes you in that.”

 

“I don’t have any other hats with me.”

 

“I’m sure we can find someplace that sells hats.”

 

“Oh, you just want to go shopping,” Harry laughed.

 

“We can shop, but first you need a hat.”

 

“Okay, fine,” Harry agreed. “But we need to leave soon; it’ll take a while to get there.”

 

Harry took a nap on the train while Ellie did a bit of research into where they were going. Harry had a restaurant picked out for dinner - someplace a friend had recommended - but he wouldn’t say what it was. This made her a little curious, but she knew Harry liked to surprise her. As promised, their first stop was to buy Harry a hat. They had a harder time than Ellie thought they should deciding on a hat that would properly disguise Harry’s identity. 

 

“That will draw more attention than if I weren’t wearing one,” he said at the hat she suggested, and hoped she was joking.

 

“Okay, what about this?” Ellie held up another.

 

“I think that’s a woman’s hat…” Harry tilted his head to inspect, but he was sure this hat was intended for the opposite gender.

 

“This one’s pretty plain looking.” She grabbed one off a lower shelf.

 

“I don’t really wear baseball caps.” Harry shook his head.

 

“Exactly,” Ellie placed it on his head, and turned him toward the mirror so he could see how inconspicuous he looked.

 

“I guess,” Harry turned his head to view it from other angles. “I could manage. Just for today, though.”

 

Ellie laughed at his reluctance, and the two purchased the hat so Harry could remain anonymous. Harry was cautious at first, but no one seemed to recognize him, or if they did they were polite and left him alone. They spent the day shopping and exploring, being tourists and taking cute selfies. As evening neared, Harry suggested Ellie buy something nice to wear to dinner that night.

 

“But I don’t know where we’re going?” She protested.

 

“I’ll help you pick it out,” he smirked.

 

Ellie shrugged, but honestly she thought Harry was better at picking out her clothes than she was, so she let him find a couple of outfits for her to try on.

 

“Harry, it’s a bit too cold for a dress that short,” she shook her head at his first suggestion.

 

“Then, we’ll match it with some tall boots or something?” He suggested.

 

“Or, I could wear pants, because it’s winter, and very cold out?” Ellie countered, and Harry acquiesced. The next outfit consisted of a one-piece halter, with a jacket. “This is better,” she took the outfit into the dressing room to try it on. It looked nice, but there was just one tiny issue.

 

“That looks hot, what’s wrong?” Harry asked when he noticed Ellie’s reluctance to show off the entire outfit.

 

“Well, um, this is a little tighter in the back than the jeans I was wearing and, um, you can see the,” Ellie paused, and whispered, “panty line.”

 

“Oh, I get it,” Harry grinned, but Ellie blushed. “So, we need to find the Korean equivalent of Victoria's Secret.”

 

“If I’m going to wear this, definitely. I’ll need a different bra too.” Ellie explained, and slipped back into the dressing room to change.

 

“Well, I guess Valentine’s Day is as good as any to buy lingerie for my wife,” Harry replied and smirked to himself as he waited for her. 

 

“Nothing scandalous, though,” Ellie gave him a look as she exited the dressing room. “It still has to be, you know, functional.”

 

Harry laughed to himself all the way to the next store, and Ellie wondered if he’d planned this somehow. He again had some impractical suggestions, which Ellie declined, before settling on a comfortable yet sexy matching lace set.

 

“This is acceptable,” Ellie looked it over and checked the size. When she looked up, Harry had already picked out a few more things for her.

 

“For later,” he smirked, and Ellie blushed.

 

“Fine, but let’s get out of here before you buy anything else.” Ellie laughed.

 

While Ellie changed into her new outfit, Harry got one more item for her to wear. 

 

“You look absolutely stunning,” Harry gawked as she emerged, and spun to show it off. “But I think it needs one more thing…” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a jewelry box.

 

“Harry, what’s this?” She looked down at the necklace in the black box he was holding.

 

“Well, they say diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but according to Anne of Green Gables, amethysts are the most romantic, and ‘diamonds pale in comparison’,” he quoted Anne, and took the amethyst necklace out of the box. “Shall I?”

 

Ellie held up her hair for him, and he carefully clasped the necklace around her neck. She couldn’t believe he still carried around that copy of ‘Anne of Green Gables’ he’d bought at her book store when they first met, and that he’d read it enough to be able to quote it. “This is beautiful,” she said as she admired her reflection in the mirror. “Thank you so much, Harry.” She leaned over to kiss him. 

 

“Anything for you, luv,” he smiled back at her. “We had better leave soon, or we’ll miss our reservation.”

 

Ellie somehow doubted they would give up his reservation, but didn’t complain. She was eager to find out where they were going, and was not disappointed once they’d arrived. 

 

“How did you pick this place, again?” Ellie asked as she looked around at the restaurant’s unique decor, taking in the atmosphere.

 

“It was recommended to me,” Harry replied. “By Ed Sheeran.”

 

“Ed? Really?” Ellie looked back at him with raised eyebrows. “Does he come here often?”

 

“Not sure, but I guess he and Psy are friends, and he recommended this place.” Harry explained.

 

“Well I like it, so thanks Ed, or, Psy, I guess,” Ellie shrugged. “Did you speak with Ed recently?”

 

“Yes, this morning, actually, I, uh…” Harry realized he never talked to Ellie about that thing his PR person had suggested, and he cleared his throat as he thought of how to bring it up. “Um, actually, I called him to see if it was okay if I posted a video with him in it.”

 

“Oh?” Ellie was confused.

  
“Yes, it’s, umm…” Harry pulled out his phone and opened the short video his PR team had edited and hoped he would post today. He slid it over to Ellie for her to watch.

 

It started out a little blurry, then focussed on Ellie and Harry, and Ed was in the background with his guitar, singing ‘their song’ - “Thinking Out Loud”. Ellie’s back was to the camera for most of the video, which gave a clear view of Harry’s face, with happy tears streaming down his cheeks. The video ended with Ellie leaning back to look at him, and laughing with Harry as she wiped his cheeks dry.

 

Harry studied Ellie’s reaction as she watched the video. The corners of her mouth quivered, and she looked like she might smile, or maybe cry, but she didn’t look angry at all. She finally blinked a few times before looking up and handing his phone back.

 

“You were going to post this?” She asked.

 

“Yeah, on instagram, twitter, wherever.” He shrugged, and added, “if it’s okay with you, of course.” He could tell she was contemplating this, and let her think without interrupting.

 

“It’s our wedding though. That’s our first dance,” she started.

 

“We don’t have to keep it a secret anymore,” Harry reached over and held her hand. “I know it was a private moment for us, but I want to share with everyone how beautiful you looked that day, and tell them how much I love you.”

 

Ellie seemed to take this all in slowly, and suddenly laughed. “Or, you want to show off that stunning suit you wore,” she teased.

 

“You sound like my sister,” he jokingly added with a pout.

 

“Did she say that too?” Ellie laughed.

 

“Yes, at Christmas, remember?”

 

“Oh, right, and then you pretty much offered to sing ‘Sweet Creature’ at her wedding,” Ellie recalled that night, and they both got quiet for a moment. “That would be lovely.”

 

“Though, as Gemma said, I’d probably ruin it by crying.” Harry scoffed, but he knew his sister was right.

 

“You just have a big heart, that’s all.” Ellie smiled.

 

“A big heart, is that all?” He grinned.

 

“Harry, don’t be naughty,” Ellie gave him a scolding smile. “What’s gotten into you?”

 

“I’m just eager to get home and try out those other outfits I bought you today,” he explained with a sly smile.

 

“This is going to be a long night,” Ellie sighed, but smiled.

 

“I hope so,” Harry winked.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know nothing of South Korea’s geography except from what I quickly read on wikipedia, so I hope I didn’t get anything wrong! I recall an interview with Ed Sheeran where he told a story about going drinking with Psy, so I think they’re friends? But again, I could be wrong! It fit with the story, and it seemed like something fun for them to do for Valentine’s Day.


	7. Ellie Gets an Idea

As the start of Harry’s arena tour drew nearer, they both prepared for the many changes that would come from being on the road again. Ellie had spent as much time playing hockey whenever she could, but she knew that have to stop once the tour started. It’s not exactly easy to get ice time in random cities around the world - especially since Harry would be performing in many of the ice arenas she could have been practicing in. But, there are many other ways for her to prepare for the upcoming hockey season, and most of them she could do while traveling with Harry on tour. 

 

On a cold March evening, as that first opening tour date loomed in the near future, Ellie received an excited phone call from her mother. 

 

“Calm down mom, what’s going on?” She finally interrupted her mom’s frantic babbling. 

 

“It’s Scott,” she started.

 

“Is he okay?” Ellie began to feel worried.

 

“Yes, Scott and Viv, they’re,” her mom continued.

 

“Mom, are they okay? What is going on?” Ellie finally asked, and heard her mother take a deep breath.

 

“They’re pregnant!” She blurted out, and continued her excited babbling. “They just told us, and I think Scott wanted to tell you himself, but you know how he is with these things - and I was just so impatient because you know I’ve always wanted grandchildren.”

 

“Yes, mom, I know,” Ellie responded without much enthusiasm. She had heard the ‘when am I getting grandkids?’ question from her mom for….as long as it was considered acceptable for her to have children. Of course she knew her daughter had a career that conflicted with having children, but that never stopped her from asking (politely, of course).

 

“They’re due in September, around the 20th,” her mother continued.

 

“That’s good, it’s before the season starts.” Ellie commented. 

 

“The what?” Her mom paused for a moment.

 

“Well, the pre-season usually starts around then, so it’s before the regular season begins.” Ellie explained.

 

“Oh, it’s always about hockey with you, isn’t it?” Ellie detected a hint of annoyance in her mother’s tone, but then she laughed it off. “So I suppose I’m not going to be lucky enough to get a grandchild from you anytime soon?”

 

“Mother!” Ellie was shocked, but laughed. “We’re busy, and young - so we’re not in a hurry.”

 

“I’m sorry, you’re right, I’m just a bit excited.” Her mom seemed to calm down. They ended their conversation soon after, and Ellie returned to working with her physical trainer.

 

“What did your mom have to say?” Her trainer, Tracy, asked.

 

“My brother’s having a baby,” Ellie answered quickly.

 

“Oh! That’s so exciting!” Tracy gushed, and talked about the time her first niece was born, and how amazing it was to have a child in the family. “She’s really just the cutest now, about two and a half I think.” She concluded, and noticed Ellie didn’t seem very interested. “I’m sorry, am I boring you?”

 

“No, sorry, I didn’t mean to offend. My mind is just elsewhere at the moment. Can I ask you a question?” She turned to face Tracy.

 

“Sure, what is it?” Tracy sat down next to her.

 

“Have you ever thought about having children?” Ellie asked, feeling a bit awkward to bring this up.

 

“Well, sure. I guess that’s something a lot of people think about in life.” Tracy nodded. “Personally, I think I’d like to be married, or in a committed relationship first.”

 

“But,” Ellie paused to make sure she worded this correctly. “Given your occupation, you would have to take some time off, or stop working completely.”

 

“Oh,” Tracy laughed. “I see what you’re getting at. Yes, in the last trimester or so, I should probably not be her helping people lift weights, but as long is it’s a normal, healthy, pregnancy, I don’t think I would have to give up working completely.”

 

Ellie nodded and thought for a moment. “So - hypothetically - I could maybe, not even miss a whole season…” 

 

“Considering the NWHL season is only about three months, I’d say if you timed it right you could do it. While hockey is a contact sport, women’s hockey tends to be less violent and you could probably play for a month or two without issue. Consider this, Serena Williams won the Australian open while about eight weeks pregnant.” Tracy offered, and smiled.

 

“True,” Ellie nodded, and stood up. “Okay, enough of this for today.” They got back to her workout, but Ellie was deep in thought the rest of the afternoon.

 

Harry noticed Ellie seemed a bit distant at dinner and asked her what was up.

 

“It’s Scott,” she said, eyebrows still drawn in thought,

 

“Is he okay?” Harry seemed concerned.

 

“He and Viv are having a baby in September.” Ellie explained, still maintaining the same thoughtful expression.

 

“That’s wonderful! You’re going to be an auntie!” He grinned and patted her on the shoulder. “I guess I’ll be an uncle, too. Uncle Harry….I like the sound of that.” He smiled off into the distance as he imagined his future niece or nephew. “Do they know the gender yet?”

 

“I think it’s too soon; don’t people usually wait until 20 weeks to know for sure?” Ellie asked, and realized Harry was staring at her. “I mean, I think, maybe? I don’t know…”

 

“Elloise, have you been looking into this?” He asked with a smirk on his lips, but an endearing look in his eyes.

 

Ellie shrugged and continued eating. “Maybe.” She finally said.

 

Harry kept looking at her carefully for the rest of dinner, but she didn’t give any other hints to her thoughts. As he was cleaning up the dishes, Ellie joined him in the kitchen and leaned on the counter near the sink where he was working.

 

“You know, Harry, I’ve been thinking,” she started, and Harry’s ears perked up like a cat hearing a can opener.

 

“Yes? About what, love?” He asked, and wondered if this could be it - if she was finally ready.

 

“I feel like something is missing from our lives, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, until recently.” She continued, and Harry waited with bated breath. “I was at the gym - with Tracy - and on the way home I saw an ad for an animal shelter.”

 

Harry exhaled a breath of disappointment, but tried to hide it. He knew he shouldn’t get his hopes up like that, and put on a smile to face Ellie again. “Oh really, and?”

 

“And I’d like to get a cat!” Ellie smiled brightly, and seeing her this happy cleared away any thoughts of disappointment Harry might have had.

 

“To replace your cat Gretzky, right,” he nodded. “I think that would be a lovely idea.”

 

“His name was Wayne, but yes. Maybe we can go to the shelter and pick one out together,” Ellie leaned closer and kissed Harry’s cheek before heading back to the dining room to grab the rest of the dishes.

 

_ ‘Patience, Harry.’  _ He thought.  _ ‘You’re both young and have a lot of time…’ _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is short, but I hope you are enjoying this story so far! It’s a little different to write than ‘Harry Who?’ so I hope you still like it. I just noticed the low rating on this story, so I apologize if the story is not going the way you thought it would. I’m generally making it up as I go, so I’m open to suggestions! : )
> 
>  
> 
> (Also, I can’t remember what Ellie’s mom’s name is, or if I ever gave her one. I checked a few chapters in Harry Who to see if I mentioned it, but I couldn’t find anything, so I might have to give her a name now)


	8. Harry and Ellie Pick a Name

There were too many cute animals in the shelter, and Harry just couldn't pick one.

 

"Can't we do something? They all deserve a good home," he ran his hand through his hair and looked into the sad puppy-dog eyes of a mutt.

 

"I’m sure they’d appreciate a donation,” Ellie suggested. “Why don’t we look at the cats, okay?”

 

Harry took another look at the dog’s sad eyes, and reluctantly followed Ellie to the cat section of the shelter. Ellie instantly fell in love with all of the cats and wanted to adopt them all, just as Harry had with the dogs. “Okay, just one,” she promised, even though Harry hadn’t said anything. “Just one,” she repeated to herself and heard the mews and purrs of all the kities awaiting adoption.   
  


“This one looks a bit like Wayne,” Harry knelt to pet the cat’s head, but it took a swipe at him. “On second thought, maybe not.”

 

Ellie giggled, and read the information tag on that cat’s cage. “Don’t worry, she’s declawed.”

 

“‘She’? Rather big cat…” Harry commented, again looking warrily at the feline.

 

“She’s a Maine Coon, they tend to be a bit larger.” Ellie explained.

 

“She’s the size of a small dog.” Harry laughed, and moved on to look at a different cat. “What about this one? It’s orange and looks lonely.”

 

“They all look lonely,” Ellie came over to look at the cat. “He is awfully cute.”

 

“‘He’? How do you know it’s a boy?” Harry looked at the cat for some kind of gender identifier.

 

“Most orange cats are males, but let’s check his info.” She read over the information tag and shook her head. “Actually, he’s a she.” Ellie raised her eyebrows in surprise, and Harry let the cat sniff his hand this time before going in to pet it.

 

“So she’s a little different?” He commented. “She seems friendly.”

 

Ellie opened the cage and carefully took the cat out. “Hey there, kitty.” She held the purring animal in her arms and Harry carefully pet the cat’s ears. 

 

“She seems to like us,” he smiled.

 

“I think we’ve found our cat,” Ellie smiled at Harry. “So, what should we name her?”

 

“After another hockey player?” Harry asked. “Who’s that teammate of your brothers? He’s supposed to be pretty good?”

 

“Sidney Crosby?” Ellie laughed.

 

“Yeah, Sidney could be a girl’s name.”

 

“Don’t get me started on that,” Ellie laughed and rolled her eyes, recalling all the teasing she knew the Pittsburgh Penguins’ captain received. “No, not a hockey player this time,” she shook her head and tried to figure out what kind of name would fit this kitty.

 

“She looks like a Scarlet, eh?” Harry suggested.

 

“I think we should save names like that for…save the ‘people’ names for, you know, people.” Ellie stammered, and Harry’s heart fluttered for a moment before Ellie continued. “I’m thinking she needs a cute name, like waffles or something.”

 

“Waffles?” Harry laughed. “I didn’t realize you were three years old.”

 

“Harry,” Ellie laughed. “Okay, maybe not waffles. Perhaps something that matches her coloring.”

 

“Ginger seems too obvious, what about...pumpkin?” Harry ran his hand along the cat’s coat, picking up a few orange hairs along the way.

 

“She’s too thin to be a pumpkin. What about...” Ellie thought for a moment. “Cheddar.”

 

“Cheddar?”

 

“Like cheddar cheese. She’s orange, and look at those claws,” Ellie explained and held up one of the cats paws. “She’s extra sharp.”

 

“That is clever,” Harry smiled and pondered the name for a moment. “You know, I think it suits her.”

 

“Yeah?” Ellie grinned, and Harry nodded.

 

“Absolutely. Let’s get those adoption papers signed, and I’ll see about making that donation so I can maybe stop feeling guilty about not taking every animal here home with us,” Harry smiled.

 

“You could just put them in another music video, like in ‘Kiwi’.” Ellie teased. “They’d be famous after that, and your fans would be scrambling to adopt a dog that’d had the prestige of appearing in one of your videos.”

 

“You know what,” Harry paused and cocked his head as he thought. “That’s actually not a bad idea. Too bad I don’t need to make another music video for a while.” Hary instantly started wondering if it was too late to make a video for one of his previous singles, like Sweet Creature perhaps. Dogs were sweet creatures, right? “Actually, on second thought….”

 

Harry was deep in thought on this subject as they drove home, not even noticing Cheddar meowing in her new cat carrier. He called his manager when he got home to discuss the idea further, but Jeff countered with an important point.

 

“Harry, your tour starts in a few days; we won’t have time to shoot a music video before you leave, sorry.” Jeff apologized, and Harry agreed. Disappointed, he found Ellie playing with Cheddar and relayed the news to her.

 

“Oh, that really is a few days away, isn’t it?” Ellie looked surprised, but of course, his tour started March 11th, and it was the 6th now. “Poor Cheddar, I hate to leave her so soon.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“I’m coming with you, right?” Ellie aksed.

 

“Yeah,” Harry’s mind wandered off in thought again. 

 

“This wasn’t good timing, sorry Cheddar,” Ellie said to her cat, but of course Cheddar didn’t really care.

 

“She can’t really come with us, can she,” Harry thought out loud.

 

“No, I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

 

“I wonder if Auntie Gemma would like to have a furry friend for awhile,” Harry said playfully and rubbed Cheddar’s head.

 

“Um, ‘Auntie Gemma’?” Ellie looked perplexed. “She’s a cat, Harry.”

 

“Same idea, right?” Harry shrugged.

 

“Not really,” Ellie cocked her head and eyed him.

 

“I just thought, maybe, the cat was like a replacement, or a stand-in, for…” Harry trailed off when he realized he was wrong. “Because you brought it up after telling me the news of your brother and his wife having a baby. I thought the two might be connected.”

 

“That’s silly, it’s just a cat.” Ellie brushed off the idea, but wondered if there was a bit of truth in what Harry was trying to say. “I’d been wanting to get a cat for a while anway.”

 

“But, the timing is really not great, considering when my tour starts. This winter would have been easier,” Harry suggested.

 

“Hey, what did Jeff say about your music video idea?” Ellie changed the subject, but she knew the topic was still hot on Harry’s mind.

 

“He says it’s not possible, since I leave for the first tour date in two days, and then I”ll be on tour in Europe consistently until April, when the tour comes back here to the UK.” 

 

“Why not just film the video on tour, stopping at animal shelters all over Europe to include dogs and cats from different countries?” Ellie suggested, and Harry’s eyes lit up.

 

“And hopefully get more dogs adopted!” He leaned closer to kiss her forehead as he stood up. “Elloise, you’re brilliant; I’m going to call Jeff back!”

 

Luckily, Gemma was willing to take Cheddar in for a few months and Ellie promised to visit as much as she could. As much as she hated to leave her new kitty behind, she knew she would regret not being there to support Harry for his first shows of his arena tour. 

 

The day before Harry’s first show on his arena tour in Switzerland, he and Ellie found themselves amidst many cute dogs and cats waiting to be adopted in a nearby shelter. The video would feature Harry playing with various adorable dogs on each stop of his tour, so they decided have him wear the outfit he planned on wearing for the show in that city in the video to differentiate between tour stops. The music video would be a work in progress, starting on his first tour date, and ending with the last show on the Australian leg of the tour on April 28th, so the video would hopefully be completed for the first anniversary of his album release date of May 12th. It would be a lot of work, but it would give a few rescue dogs in each shelter their few seconds of fame, and hopefully find them a good home to live in. At Harry’s suggestion, the rest of his band would appear in the video too.

 

“We’re going to set up a few cameras, and we’ll just run through the song a few times while you play with the dogs, okay?” The director instructed, and Harry nodded.

 

“This video was actually my wife’s idea, is it okay if she appears in the video too?” Harry asked, and glanced at Ellie (who was already playing with a few kittens).

 

The director nodded. “That would be excellent, I think the more people we can get in the videos, the better.”

 

Harry nodded, and took his place among the dogs chosen to appear in the video. It wasn’t hard to fall in love with them, but he found them distracting as he tried to sing (or lip sync) along with the song as it played in the background, and had to stop a few times because he was laughing so hard. 

 

“He’s licking my face!” Harry giggled and fell back as several dogs joined in and licked his face. Meanwhile, Clair and Ellie were playing with a few cute kittens, and Mitch smiled for what seemed like the first time while he, Sarah, and Adam played tug of war with a few adorable puppers. 

 

“I think we’ve got enough footage for today,” the director called, but Harry was happy to stay here all day.

 

“We’ve got to get ready for the show tomorrow.” Jeff finally stepped in, and Harry and his band reluctantly broke free from the cute cats and dogs.

 

“I could get used to this,” he said as they left. “This is certainly easier and more fun than the ‘Sign of the Times’ video!”

 

“Getting paid to play with dogs and cats? I could live with that,” Sarah added, and they all laughed and chatted about the upcoming show.

 

The next night, Harry spent extra time getting his hair in place, and was making the final adjustments to his suit when Ellie came into his dressing room on her phone.

 

“Goodnight kitty!! Want to say hi to Harry?” She leaned closer to him so he could see Cheddar on her screen as she skyped with Gemma.

 

“You’ve got the cat on video chat?” Harry laughed but turned around to say hi. “Hello Cheddar, I hope you’re treating Auntie Gemma nicely.”

 

“Auntie Gemma?” Gemma laughed. “Harry, you’re bonkers.”

 

“I know, that’s what I told him!” Ellie laughed with her.

 

“Well good luck tonight, we’ll watch a live stream if we can.” Gemma said.

 

“Who’s ‘we’? You and Cheddar?” Harry joked.

 

“No, me and mum, dumbass,” Gemma corrected, and Anne’s face popped into the screen.

 

“Language, dear. Good luck tonight, Harry!” She said to her son, and Harry smiled back.

 

“Thanks mum!” Harry smiled, and they ended the call. 

 

“Are you ready?” Ellie asked, noticing his usual foot-tapping, which indicated he was nervous.

 

“Yeah. We’ve rehearsed plenty, and I’m eager to get back out there.” Harry smiled, but Ellie could see he was anxious.

 

“You’ll be fine; they love you, and won’t care if you mess up. If you do, just make a joke, and go on,” Ellie smiled and ruffled his hair a bit, but was careful not to mess it up too much.

 

“But, this is my first public appearance since we’ve, you know, come out. You know, about our marriage.” Harry’s knee bounced as he tapped his foot faster. “What if they don’t take it well?”

 

“It’s been a while, I think by now people will have either accepted it, or not. There’s not much to do about that. Just do your thing, and don’t worry about it.” Ellie smiled reassuringly, and kissed him on the cheek.

 

“Yeah,” Harry nodded and started to relax a little. “You’re right. Let’s do this!” He hopped up and left to find his bandmates to warm up.

 

Ellie talked to a few people backstage she hadn’t seen since the first half of the tour, catching up and showing off pictures of the new cat.

 

Things became very tense and suspenseful as the minutes ticked down, but as soon as the lights lit up the stage, and the entire arena erupted in cheers, Harry and his band fell back into the usual routine with ease. Everything was going smoothly until Harry had to stop between songs to address a couple of signs he saw in the audience. 

 

“Okay, okay, I know,” he held his hands up, and smiled. “You’re all wondering...and yes, it’s true: I’m married.”

 

They audience was filled with ‘aww’s’ and a mix of other slightly disappointed sounds - which was to be expected.

 

“And, we actually have some exciting news to share.” Harry continued, a cheeky smile starting to form on his lips. “Yes, our family has gotten a little bit bigger.”

 

The entire arena seemed to explode in some kind of fan-gasm as all of his fans dreams and fanfictions seemed to be coming to life.

 

“Now, I know what you’re thinking...and yes,” Harry paused again and waited until the frantic screaming calmed down. “We’ve gotten a cat!”

 

The crowd laughed at Harry’s little ‘joke’, and Harry of course had a grin on his face from ear to ear. He turned back to his band, took a drink of water while the audience quieted down. 

  
“Okay, now where did we leave off?” Harry asked, and jumped back into his setlist like nothing had happened. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to see a music video for ‘Sweet Creature’ like this!! Harry and cute animals is always the best :D


	9. Harry and Ellie and a Bunch of Sweet Creatures

 

After Harry’s concert in Belgium, Ellie returned to London to visit Cheddar at Gemma’s. It seemed Cheddar was settling in well with -as Harry had called her- ‘Auntie Gemma’, but was still happy to see Ellie. 

 

Ellie picked up the purring kitty and cooed at the little animal’s actions of affection. “Aww, kitten!” She nuzzled Cheddar’s soft fur. “I don’t want to leave you ever again!”

 

Yet, she would be returning to Harry on tour in a few weeks. Ellie wanted to spend as much time with Harry, as well, before she had to start training for the upcoming NWHL season in New York. At least she could have Cheddar with her, as Harry traveled the world on tour over the next few months. 

 

It just wasn’t the same without her, Harry thought as he stepped off the stage at his first concert after Ellie had returned to London. He knew she would have laughed, but rolled her eyes, at his joke about singing ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ in Stockholm, Sweden. She maybe would have countered it with her own ‘joke’ later that evening, when it was just the two of them, something along the lines of “baby, I’ll never leave if you keep holding me this way”...

 

Except, she did leave -but she’d be back soon enough. Harry kept reminding himself of that. Ellie was just visiting their cat -the one Ellie claimed was not a ‘placeholder’ for a baby. Harry was glad that Cheddar could make Ellie happy, so he adored the cat even if he had never been much of a cat person. So if this helped her warm up to the idea of being a parent, and brought them closer to their goal of having a child together, then Harry was willing to make these few sacrifices. 

 

As planned, at every tour stop Harry and his band visited a local animal shelter and filmed a segment for the ‘Sweet Creature’ music video. An idea came to Harry as he sat with a cute lab mix on his lap, watching Sarah and Mitch play keep-away with an adorable beagle puppy. He knew this song was not really about dogs -not when he wrote it, at least. Fans and media had speculated that the song was about Louis, or his sister Gemma, but Harry -as always- never confirmed nor denied these rumors, but he knew the truth, and he wanted the video to reflect that. A quick conversation with the director, and Harry sorted out what he the video to portray.

 

Back in London, Ellie spent every minute with her cat up until the day she left to return to Harry’s tour. Gemma promised to look after Cheddar until Ellie returned from Harry’s tour and started training for the hockey season in a month.

 

Ellie was more than happy to be back with Harry, but she missed her cat. However, she put that aside and tried to enjoy every day and every tour stop with Harry over the next month, knowing they would be separated once her hockey season started. Ellie returned from training at a local ice rink one morning, right as Harry was finishing up the soundcheck for his show that night. 

 

“Wouldn’t it be nice if we had normal jobs?” Ellie huffed and fell back onto their bed after dropping her hockey gear on the floor.

 

“A normal job, as in, you and I come home at the same time to our average house -which we have a mortgage or two on- and we make dinner quickly, then complain about our ‘normal’ jobs and how much we wish we could be a professional athlete or world-famous popstar?” Harry tilted his head. “That kind of normal job?” He smiled teasingly.

 

“The ‘coming home at the same time’ part sounds nice, but I could do without the rest. Though dinner sounds okay.” Ellie looked back up at Harry and smiled.

 

“Well, unlike middle-class Harry and Ellie, who can’t afford to eat out for dinner every night, we can sample the nicest foreign cuisine all around the world as we travel,” Harry held out his hand to help her up. “Come on, we’re in Germany, let’s try some kasespatzle.”

 

“What is that?” Ellie took his hand and let him pull her up. “And I don’t feel like getting dressed up to go somewhere nice.”

 

“We don’t have to go somewhere fancy, we’re not elitists,” Harry joked. “Though, you might want to put on something other than that.” Harry glanced at her work-out clothes and they both laughed. “And kasespatzle is delicious, you’ll love it -it’s mainly just cheese and pasta.”

 

“Sounds amazing!” Elle threw on some normal clothes and did not need any more convincing than that. She and Harry made their way to a small restaurant near their hotel, and enjoyed their kasespatzle and German beer in peace, with a few fans nodding or waving respectfully as they recognized Harry. 

 

They took their time walking back to the hotel, taking in the local sights and enjoying the early summer weather. They stopped in front of a beautiful statue and fountain to take a picture for their respective social media accounts, and Ellie dug a penny out of her pocket to throw in the fountain, as many other tourists had done before.

 

“You’re supposed to make a wish, right?” She asked before flipping the coin with her thumb into the fountain.

 

“I think so; did you?” Harry asked, and wrapped his arm around her waist as they strolled back to the hotel.

 

“I did,” Ellie smiled and leaned into him.

 

“Yeah? What’d you wish for?” 

 

“I can’t tell you,” Ellie laughed. “But I can say that it’s already coming true, even right now.”

 

“Oh really?” Harry turned to smile back at her.

 

“Are you happy?” She asked, confusing Harry.

 

“In general, I guess so.”

 

“Then yes, it’s already coming true.” Ellie squeezed her arm around him tighter. She had wished for Harry to be happy, and not to miss her too much when they were apart.

 

Yet, she knew that would be harder than just throwing a penny in a fountain and making a wish. It would be hard for both of them, but the would make it work. 

 

Ellie left for New York after Harry’s last show in Europe, in Dublin. Harry and his band went to the opposite side of the world, to Australia, furthering their separation. Their first week apart was the hardest, but Harry had his tour to keep his mind busy, and Ellie had her extensive hockey training keeping her too exhausted to miss Harry very much. She also had their kitty, Cheddar, with her to keep her company. After almost a month apart, Harry decided he needed to see his wife again, and surprised her by bringing her to his current tour date. 

 

“So, why have you flown me to Japan?” Ellie asked as she yawned, still getting over the long flight.

 

“Can’t a man who misses his wife fly her halfway around the world just to see her?” Harry slipped his hands all over her body, peppering kisses along her neck and jaw as he soaked in the sensations he had missed during their month apart.

 

“I suppose I can’t really complain,” Ellie managed to say, though her mind was fighting off temptation.

 

“I have something to show you, but I think it’s obvious it must wait.” Harry whispered in her ear, and Ellie eagerly agreed.

 

After making up a months-worth of being apart -every tender kiss left unkissed finally reached its destination, every yearned touch finally ending in contact- they caught their breaths in each other’s arms. The open windows let in the sweet spring air, and the subtle sounds of the quiet night below. The pair drifted off to sleep, despite being on completely different sleeping patterns, and spent a peaceful night in each other’s arms.

 

Harry awoke with a start the next morning, and relaxed when he realized the body next to him in bed was his own wife. So used to waking up alone these days, finding someone else beside him was surprising, but a welcome change. They ate breakfast in peace, enjoying their presences as they settled into their lives together again.

 

“So, what is it exactly you wanted to show me?” Ellie finally asked.

 

“Well, as you know, I’ve been working on my music video for ‘Sweet Creature’ by visiting animal shelters - as you suggested.” Harry started, and Ellie nodded. “And, the video is finally completed, so I wanted to show you first.” Harry smiled, and brought the video up on his phone.

 

“Thank you, I can’t wait to see how it turned out!” Ellie excitedly took his phone and pressed play.

 

Before the music started, the video began with a few seconds of footage of Harry and Ellie playing with their new cat Cheddar, and Ellie ‘awwed’ a bit at this, smiling up at Harry. The song started, and a montage of Harry and his band with cute animals all over Europe continued throughout the song. As the song came to a close, Harry inched closer until he was by Ellie’s side -watching her reaction. 

 

The last shot of Harry holding a puppy faded out into a still image of Harry and Ellie standing side by side, his arm around her waist, from behind. The image slowly panned out to show Harry looking down at Ellie, as she looked up at him in mutual adoration. The still image was edited, to show Harry singing the last few lines of the song toward Ellie. As the rest of the image came into focus, Ellie realized it was from a picture of she and Harry standing in their home, in front of the room that they hoped would one day be a nursery.

 

_ ‘You’ll bring me home’ _ The last line ended and the video came to a close on the still image of Harry and Ellie looking into each other’s eyes in complete love.    
  



	10. Harry and Ellie Get Married

Harry sat in his hotel room in Texas, the day before his concert in Houston, and tried to load the live stream for Ellie’s first game of the season on his laptop. He typed in the URL a couple of times, but got an error message each attempt.

 

“Fuck,” he swore to himself, and grabbed his phone to call Ellie to see if he had spelled something wrong. The game started in a few minutes and he really didn’t want to miss it. Ellie’s phone rang and rang, and Harry again swore under his breath as he realized she probably wouldn’t have her phone with her this close to the start of the game.

 

“H-Harry?” Ellie answered her phone at the last minute, but he could barely hear her. “Harry, you there?”

 

“Yeah, can you hear me?” He asked.

 

“Not very well, I don’t have any service in the arena,” she answered, though her words were garbled.

 

“I’m trying to live stream the game, but I can’t remember the site?” Harry asked, but there was no answer. “Ellie?”

 

“Yeah...it’s already…” Her voice cut out, and Harry tried to ask her to repeat herself. “...-missed...the first period…-and”

 

“What? You’ve missed your period?” Harry frantically asked and jumped out of his seat. His heart raced, and he thought, maybe it was finally happened- that  _ it _ had finally happened! Not that they were actively trying, but it was on Harry’s mind so much that it was all he thought about it.

 

“Yeah, I have to…-the second period…-” She cut out again, but Harry caught her ‘I love you’ as the call ended.

 

Harry leaned back and tried to catch his breath. His heart was racing, and his brain was spinning with baby names as he tried to figure out the due date.  _ ‘Okay, so she’s missed one period, that means she’s been pregnant for about a few weeks...so, it’s June sixth now, a few weeks ago was around May 20th…’ _ Harry thought for a minute, since they hadn’t seen each other since he brought her to Japan around May 12, so… Harry did the math again.  _ ‘It was possible, right?’ _

 

As Harry contemplated this, the game flickered to life on the live stream, and he saw Ellie skating on the ice, their hyphenated last name across the bottom of her jersey. It warmed his heart to know she was probably carrying their child, though every time another player got close to her, Harry fretted for her safety -for  _ their _ safety. 

 

_ ‘So, if  _ it  _ happened around May...15th approximately, she would be due...in February’ _ Harry thought, and laughed to himself. “What if it was born on Valentine’s Day?” He laughed out loud, and his eyes finally returned to the screen to check the score of the game. They were up 3-2, against the Boston Pride.

 

_ ‘That was fast, considering the game had just started…’  _ Harry’s thought trailed off when he saw the time next to the score: the game was in the second period, meaning  _ he’d  _ missed the first period. Not, Ellie had missed her first period. He forgot about the time difference, so he’d missed the first hour of the game.

 

Harry swallowed hard and his eyes fell back to the screen, absently following the players around on the ice. Ellie was in the corner battling for the puck with a player from the other team - a battle she finally won, and passed the puck to another player on the team, who swiftly hit the puck into the back of the net.

 

As the team celebrated the goal, forming a group hug on the ice before returning to the bench, Harry’s heart sank and he closed his eyes for a minute.  _ ‘That was dumb, I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions like that’ _ he thought, and tried to erase the thoughts he’d had for the last half minute. In those 30 seconds he had somehow become a father, named his child, dressed it up in cute outfits, helped it take its first steps, watched Ellie teach it hockey...yeah, Harry had definitely gotten  _ way _ too ahead of himself. 

 

Harry poured himself a drink and passively watched the rest of the game, following the puck around the ice with his eyes, but not really feeling it anymore. When the Riveters beat the Pride 5-3,  Harry sighed and texted Ellie ‘Congrats’ before shutting off the game. He was about to turn off his computer, when an icon on his desktop caught his eye. 

 

It was their wedding video, from nearly a year ago, last August, when they were married on a beach in California. He hesitated, and shrugged before opening the video and hitting play. Maybe that would cheer him up?

 

The video opened with Ellie bashfully looking at her reflection in the mirror as her hair and makeup were done by Lou Teasdale, under the watchful eye of her mother and new sister-in-law, Vivian. Harry knew Ellie hated being the center of attention, and loved that modesty about her, because Harry -on the other hand- loved to be the center of attention. Opposites attract, right?

 

The video cut to Harry waiting with his groomsmen, nervously adjusting his tie and trying to joke with his best man to settle his nerves. His best man, Jack -a close friend since childhood- patted Harry on the back and offered Harry a sip from his flask, which Harry gladly accepted. He was more than excited to be getting married, and had dreamed of doing so since he had met Ellie nearly three years ago, yet he couldn’t believe it was actually happening. 

 

“Don’t worry, mate, you’ll do fine. Just relax,” Jack said as Harry handed the flask back.

 

Their wedding video next showed their family and friends seated in neatly arranged chairs on the beach, close to the water’s edge. Ellie’s mom was seated in the front row patting her eyes dry, while Anne sat on the other side of the aisle doing the same. Harry, Jack, and his groomsmen (including Ellie’s brother Scott) filed in and lined up in front of the audience, and Anne started weeping even harder. 

 

Moments later, music started playing, and everyone turned to watch the bridesmaids enter. First, was Gemma, wearing a light colored, flowing dress and a flower crown. Next, came Vivian, Ellie’s new sister-in-law, wearing a similar outfit. Two of Ellie’s teammates followed her, and lastly, came Ellie. She was wearing a long, flowing, sleeveless white dress, decorated with flowers, to match the flower crowns she and her bridesmaids wore. 

 

As she walked down the sandy aisle, the camera cut to Harry’s reaction, and he blushed as he watched his reaction nearly a year later. He got out of bed to pour himself another drink before returning to bed to continue watching. Harry hadn’t remembered the camera being that close to him at the time - in fact he hardly recalled seeing the camera crew, or honestly anyone else, that day. 

 

Ellie walked elegantly down the aisle -barefoot because her shoes kept getting stuck in the sand- holding onto her father’s arm. Harry thought he would always remember this moment as the happiest time in his life, but recently he had learned that he still had many more, happier, moments to live. Yet, the site of seeing his bride in her wedding dress would never not bring the butterflies back to his stomach, sending his heart aflutter, as it had on that beautiful August day.

 

Suddenly, Harry heard music - a song he would recognize anywhere. One by one, various musicians stood up throughout the audience playing the Beatles’ “All You Need is Love”, just like the scene in ‘Love, Actually’ where Keira Knightley got married. Harry couldn’t believe it, and turned to his best man to ask if this was his doing, but he was just as speechless as Harry. Harry’s shocked and bewildered eyes landed on the blushing face of his bride and realized she must have secretly organized this.

 

As she joined him at the altar, Harry turned to Ellie and quietly asked if she had planned this. She bit her lip and nodded.

 

“Do you like it?” She nervously asked.

 

“Like it? Ellie, this is,” he turned to watch as the song came to a conclusion. “This is the best surprise I could have asked for. Thank you,” he smiled, and wanted to lean in and kiss her then, but he knew he had to wait. 

 

As they exchanged their vows, it was a bit like recalling a dream. There was an ethereal, fantastical, almost surreal feeling surrounding their nuptials. Maybe it was just the lighting, or the angle of the camera, but Harry though Ellie really looked like an angel that day. So much so, that Harry improvised and added something to his vows to declare this thought.

 

“Ellie, you will always be my sunshine, my will to live, my only angel...and I thought I’d lost you once, so I won’t take any chances ever again.” Harry began his vows and wiped a tear before continuing. “You are the light of my life, my sweet creature, and I would do anything to make you happy.”

 

With tears in her eyes, Ellie smiled before delivering her own vows. “Oh Harry, you have already made me the happiest woman in the world, and I’m sure you will continue to do so.” She paused and took a deep breath. “You were always so much better with words than me,” she blushed, and Harry (both on screen, and the Harry watching in bed in his hotel room) laughed at her comment. “So forgive me if I just say ‘ditto’, what he said.” She laughed and indicated toward Harry, and the audience murmured in laughed. 

 

Harry clasped her hand while it was outstretched, and they continued on to the ring exchanging ceremony. Their words were barely audible as they slid rings onto each other’s fingers, with tears of happiness streaming down their faces. They held their newly ring-clad hands and waited for the signal -the words that would finalize their union. An infinity seemed to pass as Harry re-watched himself and Ellie on screen, waiting for these final words. 

 

_ ‘Ellie never wore lipstick,’ _ Harry thought as the camera focussed on Ellie’s face, but it was clear she was wearing a light natural pink shade of lipstick. Harry recalled having to wipe it off from his own mouth, and wondered if that moment had been caught on camera.

 

“By the power vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the justice of the peace spoke, and before Harry had the chance to react, Ellie stood up on her tippy-toes and planted her lips upon his. Harry wrapped his arms around his new wife, and she placed her hands on either side of his face. 

 

Their intimate moment had not seemed so public as it did now as Harry re-watched it, but the couple barely noticed their friends and family clapping behind them as they shared their first kiss as Mr. and Mrs. Styles-Wilson. The momented was only interrupted when they parted to draw breath, and as the camera panned out Harry saw for the first time his mother’s reaction (crying, as he’d expected), and the proud look on his father’s face, the happiness on his new in-law’s faces as their daughter pledged to spend the rest of her life with Harry. 

 

It was perfect, absolutely magical, and everything went (almost) as planned. The weather was one thing they couldn’t control, so when the wind picked up, they all headed inside to the reception a little sooner than expected. They didn’t really mind, though, since that gave them a chance to mingle with the guests as things for the reception were set up.

 

Dinner flew by, and as soon as the camera landed on Ed Sheeran, Harry knew what was coming. Hopefully the camera hadn’t caught him nearly bawling into Ellie’s shoulder as they danced their first dance together.  

 

Luckily, the camera focused on Ed, or shot Ellie and Harry from a distance, so his emotional crying during their first dance was kept to a minimum. Yet, of course, as the song ended, a close-up of their faces was shown as Harry and Ellie leaned appart, and Harry’s puffy eyes and tear-stained (but smiling) face filled the screen.

 

“Lovely,” Harry laughed at himself, but smiled when the shot switched to Ellie, who looked gorgeous even while delicately crying. The film came to a conclusion soon after, as the couple were driven away in a car with the cliche “Just Married!” written on the rear window. Harry closed his computer and felt a little better about his earlier incident with the ‘missed period’. 

 

“One day,” he reminded himself. “When we’re both ready, it’ll happen, one day.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The 'missed period' incident actually  happened to a friend of mine, except it was her boyfriend who said they'd missed the first period of the game they were watching - it was hilarious!!!
> 
> If you haven't seen 'Love, Actually' or you're not sure what I'm talking about: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_2q1rclwNE)


	11. Harry, Ellie, and the Three Tests

Harry could not wait to get to New York for his two shows at Madison Square Garden. He was excited to play at MSG, but mainly, he just wanted to see Ellie. She happened to have a hockey game the night he would be arriving, and he hoped to arrive in time to watch her play. However, Harry didn’t want to surprise her again -not after what had happened last time- so he made sure she knew he might be there, and not to be alarmed if she saw him.

 

Ellie tried to focus on the game, but couldn’t keep herself from checking on the private rooms above the regular seats that Harry usually watched games from. As the minutes ticked down in the last period of the game, Ellie started to give up hope that Harry would make it to the game. Yet, while celebrating a goal with her teammates, she caught a glimpse of a light up at the top of the arena in one of the private rooms. 

 

_ ‘Yes!!’ _ She thought, and celebrating teammates crowded in for a group hug as they always do after a goal, knocking an unaware Ellie to the ice.

 

“No!” Harry jumped out of his seat. “Not again,” he muttered to himself repeatedly as he rushed down to ice level to see if she was okay, feeling a dreaded sense of deja vu. 

 

Ellie was led off the ice by the team trainer to the medical examining room. The team doctor started checking her eyes, asking her questions about how she felt, when she paused and looked over Ellie’s shoulder.

 

“I think someone’s here to see you,” the doctor smiled at Ellie.

 

“Who?” Ellie asked, not moving her head as the doctor checked her eyes.

 

“Oh no, not again!” Harry ran over to her and looked her in the eyes while cupping her face in his hands. “It’s me, El, your husband Harry.”

 

Ellie laughed. “I know, silly, and I’m happy to see you.”

 

Harry relaxed when he realized he had overreacted and jumped to conclusions.

 

“This is just precautionary,” the doctor assured him, and sat down to continue asking Ellie some general questions. So far, things were going okay, until she asked a question even Harry was anxious about.

 

“Date of your last period?” She asked, and Ellie got quiet. 

 

Harry turned to her, and watched her.  _ ‘Oh no, she can’t remember,’ _ he thought, and worried she was experiencing concussion symptoms again. 

 

“If you can’t remember the exact date, just estimate,” the doctor clarified, as if sensing Harry’s worry. 

 

Ellie’s eyes slowly slid over toward Harry, not quite making eye contact. “It’s not that, um,” she starts. “It’s just that it was, um, seven weeks ago.”

 

Harry’s concerned eyes suddenly shot open as he realized what she was saying. “So you mean-” he started, but was speechless. He remembered the last time he had jumped to conclusions, and how disappointed he’d been when he realized he was wrong. 

 

“It’s normal for athletes to sometimes have irregular cycles,” the doctor explained, mistaking Harry’s reaction for fear rather than excitement. “Especially since you’re not on the pill anymore,” she continued.

 

“You’re not?” Harry turned back to Ellie, who was looking increasingly nervous. 

 

“Yeah, I thought we could, you know, start trying once your tour ended,” she explained, and now it was Harry who looked like he might need medical attention. 

 

The doctor looked back and forth between the two of them before turning to find something in a cupboard. “Well, if you’d like, I can draw some blood and have it sent to the lab so you can know for sure, or,” she set down a cup in front of Ellie, “you can pee in a cup and we can find out in five or so minutes.”

 

Harry nearly shot out of his seat as if it were electrically charged. “Yes, that one -the second option!” He blurted out, then looked over at Ellie. “If you want to, of course,” he added, and tried to sit down calmly. 

 

Ellie swallowed nervously as they both watched her -the cup staring her down- as they awaited her answer. She knew Harry wanted this more than anything, and she was also pretty excited about it, but was she ready to find out? Like any girl, she noticed when, after the four week mark, her period hadn’t started. She’d just gotten off the pill, and thought that might have been the cause. Yet, as the days passed, she started to worry it was a little more than that.

 

_ ‘Do people really get pregnant on the first try?’ _ She worried, thinking she had made a mistake getting off the pill so soon. But, how could she have known her husband would surprise her by flying her to Japan unexpectedly?

 

No, it wasn’t a mistake - if anything, it worked out perfectly. Ellie made up her mind and smiled. “Give me that cup,” she held out her hand, and Harry had some kind of fit of excitement. 

 

“Good choice,” the doctor smiled and handed her the cup. Ellie left to complete the test, and the doctor looked through her supplies for the pregnancy tests.

 

“So,” Harry started, after the two had sat in silence for a moment. “I thought a pregnancy test usually included peeing on a stick?”

 

“That’s one way of doing it, and it’s probably easier for people taking a test a home since not everyone has disposable cups like these - and who wants to pee into their regular drinking glasses?” The doctor explained, hoping a joke would loosen Harry up a bit.

 

“Right,” he nodded and cracked a smile.

 

“Plus, you can use multiple tests if you have a sample in a cup,” she continued, and laid out the three tests she planned to use.

 

“And how accurate is it?” Harry asked.

 

“It’s not 100% accurate, but it’s close: most claim 97-99% accuracy.” The doctor explained, and Harry nodded.

 

“But the blood test would be more accurate?” 

 

“Yup,” the doctor nodded, and they heard a knock on the door. “That must be Ellie.” She left with the three pregnancy tests, and Ellie joined Harry in a minute.

 

“Are you okay?” She asked and sat down next to him. “You’re sweating, and your knee is shaking like an earthquake.”

 

“I’m excited, that’s all,” he answered a bit breathlessly.

 

“I’m nervous, too,” Ellie replied, and held his hand.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me you were off the pill?” He asked after a moment.

 

“Because, and this is going to sound backwards, but I know how much you want this.” She started, and Harry knitted his brows in confusion, so Ellie continued. “I didn’t want you to get your hopes up, or be disappointed each time I got my period. I kind of wanted it to happen...naturally.”

 

Harry sighed; as much as he wanted to be upset about her keeping that information from him, he also felt a bit remorseful for putting so much pressure on Ellie. He knew she had a bigger sacrifice to make than he did, since she could not continue playing hockey if she were pregnant, so he shouldn’t blame her for wanting to take control of the situation. Yet, he felt so helpless, like it was out of his hands.

 

“I guess, but,” he couldn't quite finish the sentence. 

 

“I didn’t want it to change things between us, especially, you know, intimately,” Ellie tried to explain. “Like, you hear of people trying to become pregnant, and sex become almost like a chore, and everything is timed out and planned….I didn’t want that for us. I’d rather it happen organically; it happens when it happens,” she shrugged.

 

Harry bit his lips as he processed this. “Okay, yeah, that makes sense. Have you at least been eating healthy, and not drinking?”

 

“Of course! And yes, I’ve been eating that peanut butter with flaxseed oil you bought me months ago. Well, not the same jar -that’s long gone.”

 

“It is?”

 

“Yes, I ate some every day; peanut butter on apple slices is one of my favorite snacks.” Ellie smiled warmly, and Harry started to relax a bit.

 

“It is, isn’t it,” he said to himself as he recalled making that exact snack for her when she was recovering from her concussion last year. “I’m sorry, I guess I’m just a little wound up over-”

 

The door opened and they both froze, their heart rates skyrocket at the sight of the doctor carrying three pregnancy tests. “Want the results?” She asked, almost jokingly.

 

Ellie nodded, suddenly unable to find her voice. Next to her, Harry seemed a statue carved of marble as he awaited their fate.

 

“Okay, well,” the doctor laid the three tests on the counter for them to see. “Two negative, one positive.”

 

“Oh,” Harry felt like popped balloon.

 

“So…?” Ellie wasn’t sure what to think of this.

 

“It could be a false positive, or it could be too soon for this type of test to tell. So, I think we should do the blood test as well. I’ll try to have the results expedited.” The doctor explained, and all Harry and Ellie could do was nod. 

 

Ellie rolled up her sleeve, and the doctor applied a tourniquet, and drew a vial of blood. Harry held Ellie’s hand the entire time, but looked away until the needle was gone. 

 

“Squeamish around needles, eh?” Ellie asked him as the doctor prepared the vial to be sent to a lab.

 

“A bit, yeah,” he cringed.

 

“You’re going to have to get over that if you’re going to take our kids to get their shots,” she mock scolded him with a smile.

 

“Oh, ‘kids’ is it?” His eyebrows shot up.

 

“I mean, I hadn’t really thought about it, but I had kind of maybe assumed we’d have 2,” Ellie blushed and tried to shrug it off, but could feel Harry’s warm smiling eyes watching her.

 

“I’m so happy to hear that, because I kind of maybe thought the same thing.” He leaned closer and kissed her on the cheek. “Preferably one girl one boy, but I don’t really care - as long as they’re healthy.”

 

“Yeah, and I’d prefer they not both arrive at the same time,” Ellie laughed, but widened her eyes inf fear at the prospect of having twins.

 

“Are twins hereditary?” Harry asked, and before Ellie could reply, the doctor piped in:

 

“They are, but just because you’re a twin doesn’t mean you’ll have twins.” Ellie seemed relieved at this explanation.

 

“What about hair color? Scott’s ginger, isn’t he? Am I going to have a ginger baby?” Harry asked with wide eyes.

 

“As far as I know he’s one of like two gingers in my family, so I doubt it, but…” Ellie shrugged and looked at the doctor.

 

“It’s possible,” she shrugged. “I’ll deliver this to a lab myself this afternoon, and hopefully you will hear results within 1-2 days.”

 

“Two days? But I have to leave in a couple of days,” Harry turned to Ellie. He really hoped they could find out together, but he couldn’t put off his tour just for this (as much as he wanted to).

 

“It’s not exactly ethical, but I’m sure the lab would expedite the process if given a donation,” the doctor suggested, and Harry nodded.

 

“I’ll call my manager right now,” he started to pull out his phone.

 

“Are you sure?” Ellie hesitantly stopped him. “Are our results more important than anyone else’s?”

 

Harry froze and stared back at her. As much as he wanted to know immediately whether or not his wife was carrying their child, he also didn’t want to use his celebrity status to allow them to cut the queue and receive special treatment over other couples who were playing the same waiting-game they were. “You’re right, I could stand to learn a bit of patience.” He said through nearly gritted teeth. “But if we don’t hear anything by tomorrow evening, I’m calling Jeff.”

 

Ellie eventually nodded. “Fair enough. Um, does the test have our name on it?” Ellie asked the doctor, suddenly realizing how embarrassing it would be if that information was somehow made public.

 

“It is anonymous, but all medical records are kept confidential.” The doctor explained, and Ellie and Harry exhaled a sigh of relief.

 

“Good, I can’t imagine how mad my mum would be if she found out through a tabloid that we were trying to have a baby,” Harry shook his head at that mental image.

 

“You haven’t told her?” Ellie couldn’t believe it! He and his mom were close, right?

 

“She would be on my back 24/7 if she knew - in fact, she’d probably be over here right now offering to take care of you so you could relax while pregnant.” Harry explained exasperatedly.

 

“Yeah, I don’t want that,” Ellie shook her head at the image. Her mother had offered to do nearly the same thing for Vivian, Scott’s wife, when she found out she was pregnant, because Scott was often away playing hockey.  _ ‘Though, it would be nice to not have to go through some of it alone’ _ Ellie thought when she considered Harry’s tour schedule, and how busy he is even when he’s not touring. She mentally shook her head and decided to keep that to herself.

 

_ ‘He doesn’t need to worry about that, too _ ’ Ellie told herself.  _ ‘Just take it one day at a time’ _ .

 

“Just one more day,” Harry said, nearly repeating Ellie’s mental monologue. “Then we’ll know for sure.” He leaned over to kiss her cheek.

 

_ ‘One more day…’ _   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait between chapters again!!! I wrote part of this by hand yesterday at work because I got bored, and the rest kind of went from there!
> 
> BTW, I took a course in college (for a science requirement) called ‘Making Babies’ and that’s why I know so much about pregnancy tests! Not because I’ve had to use them a lot myself!! (not that there’s anything wrong with that!) Just wanted to clarify : )
> 
>  
> 
> I hope you’re enjoying the story so far! Sorry to leave it on a cliffhanger like this!


	12. Harry and Ellie Get an Answer

Harry sat backstage at Madison Square Garden in his dressing room, trying (but failing) to focus on his upcoming show. Beside him, Ellie was somehow much more calm.

 

“That’s it - it’s been 24 hours, and we haven’t heard the results. I’m calling Jeff.” Harry jumped out of his seat and quickly paced.

 

“I don’t really think Jeff can help…” Ellie rebutted, and Harry sat down next to her again.

  
How can you possibly be so calm right now?” He asked, wishing he could borrow some of that calmness.

 

Ellie shrugged. “We’re going to find out one way or another eventually.”  
  
“True, but…” Harry shook his head restlessly and ran his fingers through his hair. “But that one positive test is driving me crazy.”

 

“It was just one pregnancy test, don’t get your hopes up,” Ellie cautioned, though she knew Harry was well beyond that point.

 

“That’s impossible, and you know it.” He half smiled, then went back to nervously tapping his foot.

 

“Do you want me to call the team doctor again to see if she’s heard anything?” Ellie asked and pulled out her phone, knowing Harry’s answer.

 

“Please,” he answered.

 

“Harry, it’s time,” the stage manager notified him.

 

“Just five more minutes,” he pleaded.

 

“That’s what you said five minutes ago…” The stage manager cocked her head doubtfully. “You have thousands of fans out there waiting for you -they’ve started chanting your name- you can’t let them wait any longer.”

 

“Just say we’re having technical difficulties or something,” Harry suggested, and turned back to Ellie as she called her doctor.

 

“Hi, it’s Ellie and Harry, again,” Ellie started when the call went to voicemail (again). “Just wondering if you’d heard anything from the lab. Anyway, thanks for doing this, we’re anxious-”

 

“-very anxious,” Harry interjected.

 

“-to find out the results.” Ellie concluded and discontinued the call. “See? She hasn’t gotten the results yet. If she did, she would have called us.”

 

“But she’s not answering her phone, what if something happened to her? Maybe she lost her phone?”

 

“Harry, it’s okay, I’m sure she’s fine.” Ellie tried to reassure him, but could tell she wasn’t having much effect.

 

“Okay.” Harry reluctantly agreed.

 

“So, you’re ready to start the show now?” The stage manager asked.

 

Harry thought for a moment before biting his lips and nodding slowly. “Okay.”

 

“Don’t worry about this; just go out there and be awesome, as always.” Ellie patted him on the back.

 

“If she calls you, let me know immediately, okay?” He instructed.

 

“I’m not going to interrupted your show,” Ellie shook her head. “It’s not a life or death situation.”

 

“But it is! It’s life -it’s our child- there’s nothing more important than that.” Harry held her hand in his own and looked her in the eye.

 

“Harry,  you need to get on stage,” the stage manager instructed, and this time Harry listened. He gave Ellie a kiss goodbye before heading out onto stage with his band.  

 

Ellie waited off stage where Harry could see her, and kept her phone in her hand in case she got the call. While Harry was caught up in an enthusiastic performance of ‘Kiwi’ Ellie’s phone rang. She rushed back stage to answer it, hoping Harry wouldn’t notice she was gone.

 

“Did you get the results?” She started, and listened to the doctor’s reply. “Okay...um, would you mind telling him for me? I just….okay, thank you. I’ll call you back after the show, and maybe we can facetime, so you can physically show him the results -incase he doesn’t believe you?” Ellie asked, and the doctor agreed. She returned to the side of the stage just in time to see the end of ‘Kiwi’, so she was sure Harry hadn’t seen her leave to answer her phone.

 

When the show concluded and Harry finally left the stage, he was bouncing with excitement. “Did she call?” He asked Ellie.

 

“Why don’t we try calling her again, okay?” Ellie suggested.

 

“Okay, but not here - let’s go to my dressing room, in case it’s not, you know…” Harry couldn’t finish his sentence and shrugged, but Ellie knew what he meant.

 

“That’s a good idea,” she nodded, and followed him to his dressing room. She closed the door, and locked eyes with Harry. “Ready?”

 

“Wait, what if it’s...not positive?” He finally said the words.

 

Ellie swallowed. “We’ll find out, and we’ll deal with it either way.”

 

Harry nodded seriously, his face drawn in worry. “Okay.”

 

Ellie hit call and held the phone out so she and Harry could see the screen.

 

“We’re facetiming?” Harry asked when he saw their faces appear on the screen.

 

“Oops, did I do that? Oh well,” Ellie lied, but Harry was too anxious to notice.

 

“Hello!” The doctor answered the phone, and Harry and Ellie mumbled ‘hi’. “I have your results, and…”

 

Harry’s foot tapping seemed to spread to the rest of his body as he awaited her verdict.

 

“...congratulations, you’re pregnant!” She said, and held up the results from the lab to prove it.

 

Harry’s mouth fell open, but no words came out. He looked at the results on the screen to double check, and then at Ellie. “You’re...you’re…” He was still at a loss of words, so instead he embraced Ellie, letting his hand rest on her abdomen. He put his other hand on the side of her face and drew her into a soft, passionate kiss.

 

“Guys, I’m still here...” The doctor said on Ellie’s phone.

 

“Sorry, thank you so much!” Harry beamed. “We’re going to go now and, um, celebrate -if that’s okay?”

 

“Yes, just no alcohol, if that’s what you meant.” The doctor explained.

 

“That’s not what I meant,” Harry replied with a cheeky grin.

 

“Okay, we’re going to go now, thank you!” Ellie blushed and hung up before Harry could say anything else embarrassing.

  
  


Much later that night, when they had finished ‘celebrating’, Harry curled up next to Ellie with his hand on her low abdomen -as if he could feel the life growing there.

 

“You knew, didn’t you?” He finally said, and looked up at her.

 

“What?” Ellie laughed, but internally panicked.

 

“I mean, you just had that maternal instinct, you know? Like, you just knew that there was a little baby Styles growing within you.”

 

“Oh, hahaha,” Ellie laughed nervously. “And, I think you mean, a baby Styles-Wilson.”

 

“Right, of course,” Harry smiled back at her. “So, I’ve been thinking about names, and -”

 

“Not yet,” Ellie interrupted him and placed a finger on his lips. “We’re not at the ‘names’ stage yet, okay?”

 

“Okay?” Harry didn’t fully understand.

 

“It’s still early, and I want to wait until we know for sure, before we get into this too much,” Ellie explained.

 

“So, I shouldn’t tell my mum?” Harry asked.

 

“You can tell her, but, usually people wait until the end of the first trimester before announcing a pregnancy, or even until 20 week, just to be sure that, you know, it’s actually happening,” Ellie tried to explain.

 

“Oh,” Harry tilted his head. “Okay, I see what you mean.”

 

“We don’t even know the due date yet, and we haven’t had an ultrasound, or anything. So let’s wait until we know all the facts before we tell anyone.” Ellie said, and hoped Harry understood.

 

As excited as he was about this news, Harry didn’t want to have to retract that statement - he didn’t even want to think about that right now, but it was, of course, a possible outcome. “Okay, I - I understand that.”

 

“We’ll go to the OBGYN, we’ll find out what’s going on, when the due date is, make sure it’s okay, and maybe, if you want, when the time comes, we can find out the gender.” Ellie explained, and tried to calm Harry down.

 

“We can figure out the due date, right? It’s just 40 week from the last date we had sex.” Harry stated.

 

“Kind of, maybe more like, a week or so after that date,” Ellie pondered.

 

“Well, it was around May 10, so 40 weeks later would be…” Harry pulled out his phone, while Ellie tried to do some mental math. “February 14, 2019.”

 

“Huh,” Ellie contemplated this. “Okay.” They both thought for a minute.

 

“Do you want to know the gender?” Harry suddenly asked.

 

“I don’t know, maybe, do you?” Ellie thought for a moment.

 

“I have a ideas for names, either way, so whatever you want,” Harry looked back at Ellie.

 

“I haven’t thought that far ahead, but at some point -not right now- I’d like to go over that with you. But I’m not at that point yet; I’m still trying to get my head around the fact that there is a tiny human being inside of me!” Ellie explained, and laughed at the idea.

 

“We did that,” Harry smiled at her. “That’s our tiny little human in there.” He looked happier than Ellie had ever imagined - happier than he’d been on their wedding day, happier than he’d been when she accepted his proposal, happier than he’d been when she recognized him after getting a concussion and momentarily losing her memory- Harry was ecstatic, and Ellie completely understood and felt the same way.

 

(gif credit tumblr user [thestylesgifs](https://78.media.tumblr.com/08feb204ceaf0c83aaa46d5f3cd84fea/tumblr_p9d0k7uolw1vtwrluo2_r1_540.gif)

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Could I have drawn this out any more? Yes, but I couldn’t do that to you! I was getting impatient, and almost rushed to this point too early, but they’re finally pregnant! This is what we’ve all been waiting for (I think?). I’m excited, and I have some name ideas picked out, but what are your ideas for names for Harry and Ellie’s baby?


	13. Harry, Ellie, and the Big Surprise

“You knew, didn’t you?” Harry asked as he and Ellie lay in bed together after ‘celebrating’ the news.

 

“What?” Ellie froze and worried that he’d somehow found out that she had in fact received the phone call a few minutes earlier than she’d let on.

 

“Just like, intuition, you know? You were so calm about it, you must have know somehow -internally- that you were pregnant.” Harry explained.

 

“Oh, um,” she relaxed back into his secure embrace. “Maybe. The whole missed period thing was kind of a red flag, but I guess that can happen for various other reasons. There have been a few random food cravings, though.”

 

“Really? Like what? Whatever you want, I’ll get it for you - no matter what time it is, I’ll run to the store or wherever and get you whatever you two want,” he said to Ellie, and her tummy.

 

She smiled and laughed at him before responding. “Maybe it’s my body’s way of telling me I should return to Canada, but...poutine.” She bit her lip to keep from grinning.

 

“Really?” Harry opened his eyes wide. “I guess this baby is truly Canadian.”

 

“Well, it’s at least half,” Ellie laughed. “I guess we’ll find out if how Canadian it is if it wants to play hockey or not.”

 

“Oh, I hope not,” Harry shook his head, suddenly serious. “I don’t think I could stand the stress of that. What I’ve gone through with you playing hockey was bad enough, but….a kid, a child, that I created, out there risking a concussion -or worse- for sport?” He shook his head and stared off into space, deep in thought.

 

“Harry, kids face dangers like that every day. Just riding in a car, or crossing the street, could hurt them as much as playing hockey.” Ellie said, not helping Harry’s predicament. “But we have long time before we need to worry about that.” Ellie smiled comfortingly, and rolled over to cuddle Harry until they fell asleep.

 

The next night, before his second show at Madison Square Garden, Ellie approached Harry in his dressing room. “Hey,” she sat down next to him.

 

“What’s up?” He asked and held her hand.

 

“Harry, can you promise not to say anything about the baby yet?” Ellie looked him in the eyes.

 

“Oh, um...” His eyes grew wide and he stared off behind her.

 

“Harry, you didn’t put this on twitter, did you?” Ellie chastised him.

 

“No, nothing like that. I told my mum, though.” Harry nervously bit his lip. 

 

“Well that’s okay, I guess,” Ellie smiled.

 

“Why shouldn’t we tell anyone?” Harry asked.

 

“It’s still very early, and they say you’re not supposed to tell anyone or announce it until after the first trimester.” Ellie explained. “Until we know everything is...okay.”

 

“Oh, right.” Harry nodded and bit his lips, getting what she was hinting at.

 

“The less people we tell now, the less we’ll have to backtrack if, you know, it doesn’t go well.” She didn’t want to have to say that, but it was the reality of the situation. She gave him a reassuring hug and changed the subject. “How did Anne take the news?”

 

“She is over the moon! She cried for probably 20 minutes after I told her. Well, we both cried,” Harry amended, and they laughed. “What about your mum? How’d she react?”

 

“I haven’t told her yet,” Ellie admitted with a shrug. “I haven’t worked up the nerve to face all of that grandmotherly-excitement again.”

 

“Maybe she won’t be quite as exuberant this time, since it’s not the first?” Harry suggested with a smirk.

 

“Poor Scott,” Ellie laughed at the memory of her mother’s reaction to Scott and Vivian’s announcement. “Hopefully he got the worst of it, so when I tell my mom, she’ll be totally chill about it.”

 

“Right,” Harry laughed to himself, knowing that wouldn’t be the case. “What if we do it together?”

 

Ellie looked up at him and smiled. “I’d like that a lot. Afterall, it is  _ our _ news to tell.”

 

“What if we do something for our first anniversary, like throw a party and invite both of our families, and tell everyone then?” Harry suggested.

 

Ellie thought for a moment. By August, it would be around the three month mark, so it would be safe to announce it. Ellie smiled and nodded. “That would be perfect.”

 

Harry hugged Ellie tightly, and was called to stage shortly after.

 

Ellie reluctantly gave up playing hockey for the rest of the season, but insisted on practicing with the team as long as she could. She wore the red ‘no contact’ jersey, so she wouldn’t risk injury in practice. Harry wasn’t too thrilled about it, and would have prefered Ellie accompany him on the rest of his tour, but they compromised and settled on this, since Ellie would have to give up hockey for the next nine months.

 

As August rolled around, they planned their first year anniversary party, while trying to keep the baby a secret. So far, Anne was still the only one who knew, and Harry hoped she could keep her mouth shut until they could reveal it themselves.

 

Harry and Ellie tried to figure out the best way to announce the news. They didn’t want it to be too dramatic, but to still contain an element of surprise. Harry suggested they get a huge banner and have it unrolled when everyone was gathered. Ellie liked the idea, but thought they could do something a little more personal (and a bit more subtle). They wanted everyone to find out at the same time, so maybe once they were seated for dinner they could announce it, or something.

  
A week before the party, Ellie and Harry went to the doctor for her first ultrasound. Harry was emotional as ever, as usual, but this time, even Ellie couldn’t keep tears from forming in her own eyes as she heard that little whirlwind of a heartbeat.

 

“It’s so tiny!” Harry gasped when he saw the image of their child on the screen.

 

“It’s about three and a half inches right now,” the doctor explained with a smile. “It’s started growing fingernails, toenails, and even teeth!”

 

“Oh my god,” Ellie whispered and stared in awe at the image. She was mesmerized by the little arms and legs, the tiny barely-visible face, the sound it’s tiny heart made… “That thing’s inside of me.” She suddenly felt so protective of it, and couldn’t believe she’d been playing hockey the past few months with this precious and delicate form living in her. Something snapped, like a switch being thrown on in her brain, and ‘mom mode’ was initiated. This thing, this tiny human being, was suddenly the most important facet of her life -more important to her than herself, or even Harry- and she would do anything to protect it.

 

“Harry, I’ve got an idea of how we can announce it to our family,” she smiled at him. “You’re going to love it, it’s totally your thing.”

 

They received multiple images from the scan, as well as a recording of the heartbeat. Harry put the audio of the heartbeat on his phone and listened to it every day, feeling jealous that Ellie got to have that tiny being with her at all times. While there were times she didn’t notice it, and others she certainly did, Ellie couldn’t hear the heartbeat, or feel it moving yet, so she, too, relied on the images and recording from the ultrasound.

 

The day of their anniversary party finally rolled around after what felt like months of waiting. Harry was so impatient to tell them their news that he nearly spoiled the surprise multiple times. Anne, who knew the secret, didn’t know they were announcing it today, so Harry made sure she had a full glass of wine in her hand at all times - hoping that would keep her quiet. 

 

When they all sat down for dinner, Harry and Ellie were seated next to each other at the head of the table. He stood up to make a toast, but paused.

 

“I’d like to make a toast, but first, I have a riddle for you.” He grinned, and there was a collective groan from his guests who were familiar with Harry’s excellent jokes. “What has fingernails, toenails, even some teeth, and a mouth, but can’t breath?” Harry asked and looked around the room at their reactions. Most people looked a bit confused, but his mother pressed her lips shut and even covered her mouth to keep from saying it. Yet, the tears of happiness streaming down her face gave it away a bit.

 

“A fish with fingernails?” Scott suggested, and their guests laughed. 

 

“If you need a hint, look under your plate.” Ellie added, and slowly everyone lifted their plates to find an image from their ultrasound.

 

“Oh my god,” her mother gasped. “You’re pregnant!” She shrieked and hopped out of her chair to give her daughter a hug. 

 

At that point, Anne completely lost it and started bawling with happiness, so Harry came over to give her a hug, and he also started crying. Everyone was an emotional mess for a while as they exchanged hugs and ‘congratulations’. Ellie blushed throughout most of it, not used to the attention and adoration, but Harry seemed to be glowing with happiness.

 

“So are we going to eat?” Scott jokingly asked after a while, and Ellie relaxed now that the attention was off of her.

 

“Thank you, yes, we’re hungry!” She laughed, and they got around to eating dinner.   
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, again! I had half of this chapter written for a while, but it was too short to post, so I finally came up with this ending today. I think this story is going to skip forward in time a bit over the next few chapters (I actually hate writing pregnancy, I don’t know why lol) so there’s going to be a bit of a time jump.
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for reading, commenting, and voting! :D


	14. Ellie, Harry, and the Intern

As soon as Harry and Ellie found out they were pregnant, Harry instantly became Ellie’s personal assistant whether she wanted it or not. When they traveled, he insisted on carrying her bags for her, even her purse, and made sure she always had water, and whatever food she was craving on hand. He also seemed to take it quite personally whenever she suffered from morning sickness, and apologized profusely every time she got sick. 

 

“This is all my fault,” he lamented as he held her hair for her. “I’m so sorry I’ve done this to you, love.”

 

“Harry,” Ellie said hoarsely once she’d stopped. “It’s not your fault - you didn’t do this to me.” She shook her head and almost laughed, but worried it would upset her stomach again.

 

“I didn’t?!” Harry asked in mock surprised, and this time Ellie couldn’t help but giggle.

 

“Okay, yes you did get me pregnant, but you are not making me sick.” She looked down at her stomach, at the ever growing baby-bump. “He’s making me ill.”

 

“Wait, you think it’s a boy?” Now Harry was truly shocked.

 

Ellie shrugged. “It’s just a feeling, intuition, I guess.”

 

“Okay, because I thought we both agreed not to find out the gender until it’s born. That was your idea, if I recall…” Harry had been a bit reluctant to agree, but he didn’t want to stress Ellie, so he gave in to her ‘demands’ - she had merely asked ‘do you want to find out if it’s a girl or a boy at the next ultrasound, or no?’ To which Harry responded, ‘not if you don’t want to.’ Yet, he was dying to know if he was having a little girl or not.

 

They left it at that, and at the next ultrasound, the 20 week halfway point, the doctor asked if they would like to know the sex of the baby.

 

“We’re going to wait,” Harry answered, even though Ellie just shrugged.

 

“Wonderful, and if you don’t mind, I have an intern shadowing me, and I’d like her to do the ultrasound today.” The doctor explained. “She just needs to perform a few more in order to complete her training, but if you’d rather it just be the three of us today, I’d understand.” She continued, knowing that the couple didn’t want the news to go public yet. 

 

“That would be fine,” Ellie answered quickly, wanting to get it over with.

 

“I-uh...okay,” Harry reluctantly smiled and agreed - if that’s what Ellie wanted, then he wanted it too. 

 

The doctor smiled and left to get the intern.

 

“Are you sure about this?” Harry asked Ellie once they were alone.

 

“Yeah, I mean, it’s not like the intern can say anything - doctor/patient confidentiality and all.”

 

“But she’s not really our doctor…” The doctor returned with the intern and Harry stopped talking. Before he could finish his thought, it was immediately obvious his concerns were confirmed: the intern was a fan.

 

“This is Ashleigh, and she will perform the ultrasound under my supervision.” The doctor explained, and sat down to observe her student.

 

Ashleigh was nervous, but politely introduced herself before getting started. Everything looked okay, and the procedure went smoothly. Harry completely forgot Ashleigh was a fan, despite her furtive looks at him when he wasn’t looking. As the exam ended, the doctor excused herself from the room to answer a call, since the ultrasound had gone well, she wasn’t really needed anymore.

 

When they finished, Ellie got up to use the bathroom and clean all the ultrasound goo off, leaving Harry alone with the fan/intern.

 

“If you’d like to pick out a few images from the ultrasound we can send them to you,” Ashleigh instructed.

 

“Okay, umm….” Harry scanned the images taken and found a few that looked nice.

 

“Good choice, she looks really great in that one,” Ashleigh said.

 

“She?” Harry’s eyes popped out of his head, and the intern realized her mistake.

 

“Um, yeah, your wife,” Ashleigh corrected, but blushed profusely.

 

Harry cocked his head and pointed to the image. “That’s the inside of my wife’s uterus, and you think it looks nice in that picture?” He wasn’t exactly mad -more ecstatic that he’d finally found out- but he knew Ellie didn’t want to know.

 

“Yup,” Ashleigh gulped.

 

“Well, don’t tell her that, she doesn't want to know,” he said quietly as Ellie emerged from the bathroom.

 

“Are we all set?” She asked, looking between harry and the blushing intern. Ashleigh had an odd look on her face, whilst Harry was masking a smirk.

  
“Yes, we’ll get these images to you soon,” Ashleigh explained, sounding less confident than before.

 

“Let me carry your purse for you,” Harry said, and snathed the item before Ellie could. They left hand in hand, taking a back exit out of the hospital so they wouldn’t be seen.

 

They drove home in relative silence as Ellie looked over the images they had sent. Yet, that was not the main topic on Ellie’s mind at the moment.

 

“What did you and that intern talk about while I was in the bathroom?” Ellie asked abruptly and startled Harry.

 

“Nothing really, why?” Harry answered quickly - probably too quickly, as Ellie was on alert now. 

 

“You were whispering something to her and her cheeks were flushed…”

  
“It...it was nothing, really,” Harry tightened his grip on the steering wheel, an action Ellie noticed. He was always so bad at lying, especially to Ellie. “She’s a fan, that’s all.”

 

“I see,” Ellie nodded, not feeling ameliorated by that explanation, since it really didn’t explain anything. “A One Direction fan or a solo Harry style fan?”

 

“Un...she didn’t say.”

 

“So what did she say?” Ellie was starting to lose her patience, but she really didn’t want to get mad at Harry over something so circumstantial. It certainly looked like something other than a standard fan interaction, but she didn’t want to think Harry was lying to her.

 

But, he was, and it was sending his heart into overdrive just thinking about it. He was doing it for her own good, right? She didn’t want to know the gender, so he was doing her a favor by keeping it a secret, right?

 

Ellie kept quiet on this subject for a while, since it was clear she wasn’t getting anything else from Harry - despite it being clear he was hiding something. She blamed her pregnancy hormones for the paranoia and tried to more on, but her mind kept replaying that smile he had on his face as he whispered to the girl, her cheeks flushed with...lust? Ellie assumed so, and she’d had enough encounters with his fans to expect that reaction from them. 

 

Yet, she had never seen Harry whisper anything to a fan like that. What had he said to her? Was he flirting? Was this why he was being overly-extra nice to her? Ellie looked down at her stomach covered by a once-loose fitting, now-tight hoodie, and her comfy pajama pants, and the slippers she seemed to wear constantly now that her feet had begun to swell, and shook her head.

 

_ ‘I don’t blame him’ _ Ellie thought, and tears started rolling down her cheeks. She leaned against the wall and slowly slid to the floor bawling.

 

“Ellie?” Harry called from his office -where he was penning a few lyrics for his second album- after he heard a thud. “Ellie?!” He called again more frantically and dropped his pen. He rushed upstairs and found her in the spare room they had designated as the nursery, curled up on the floor.

 

“Oh god Ellie, are you okay?” Harry rushed to her side and gently lifted her tear-stained face. “Is it the baby? Is she okay?”

 

Ellie nodded, as tears formed at the corners of her eyes and realized how dumb she’d been for even thinking Harry might cheat on her.

 

“What’s wrong, love?” He asked soothingly, and tried to wipe away her tears with his hand. 

 

“It’s nothing,” she sniffled and sat up.

 

“You can tell me, it’s okay,” Harry coaxed softly.

 

“It’s dumb, but..I thought you might have been flirting with that intern,” Ellie finally said and Harry laughed.

 

“No, definitely not.” He reassured. “I was just making sure she wouldn't let our little secret out.”

 

“Oh, that’s all?” Ellie laughed. “I was so worked up over nothing! I thought that because I was getting fat, and can’t wear anything but sweatpants these days…”

 

“You’re not fat, you just have another person living inside of you, that’s all,” Harry corrected. “And I think you are almost more beautiful now than you’ve ever been, no matter what you’re wearing.”

 

Ellie smiled back at him and blinked away the remaining tears. “I don’t feel that way, but thank you.”

 

“You’re absolutely radiating, it’s incredibly alluring,” Harry murmured as he leaned in to kiss her.

 

“You don’t have a pregnancy fetish, do you?” Ellie joked and kissed him back.

 

“Maybe I do,” Harry smiled jokingly before kissing her cheek and wrapping her in an embrace, placing his hand on the baby bump.

 

“Eww,” Ellie laughed.

 

“I think she likes that,” he said softly, “she’s moving. You like the sound of your mum’s laugh?” He leaned closer to ask the baby. “Me too,” he added, smiling back at Ellie.

 

Ellie smiled at the two of them, when it suddenly hit her: “You keep saying she?”

 

“Oh, it’s uh, intuition or whatever you called it,” he explained quickly, trying not to show how uncomfortable lying made him feel.

 

“You just secretly want a girl, don’t you?” Ellie cocked her head and jokingly accused.

 

“I mean, I’d be just as happy with a boy, as long as it’s healthy.”

 

Ellie nodded in agreement. “Well, if it’s a boy I want to name him ‘Robert’ after my grandfather who passed away a few years ago.”

 

“That’s a nice name. You don’t want to name him after a hockey player?” Harry half teased.

 

“No, that was fine for my cat Wayne, but not for my child,” Ellie laughed. “What about you? You must have suggestions for names.”

 

“Oh I do,” Harry grinned. “I have the perfect named picked out.”   
  


 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait between chapters! I thought it had only been like two weeks, not a month, oops!


	15. Dressed Up Like a Christmas Tree

“There’s no water inside this swimming pool,” Ellie commented and stared into the empty pool.

 

“‘Ever Since New York’?” Harry mused as his wife quoted one of his songs, but she kept staring.

 

“Why are empty swimming pools so sad?” Ellie asked suddenly.

 

“We’ll refill it when we come back in the spring,” he reassured her with a quick kiss on the cheek and returned to packing.

 

“I know, but…” she continued to stare at the dehydrated pool. “It’s just going to sit there, unfilled, all winter. What if a frog jumps in it and can’t get out?” Ellie asked with concern.

 

“Have you ever seen a frog jump in our swimming pool before?” Harry laughed, but continued packing up the few things left. “They’ll put a cover on it when after it’s been resealed. Then, it’ll just look like we’ve put the cover on the pool for the night, and you won’t even know it’s empty.”

 

“And the frogs can’t get in,” Ellie nodded, feeling content with this explanation.

 

“Except this frog,” Harry surprised her with a hug from behind, causing Ellie to giggle.

 

“My frog prince,” she laughed as she realized what he meant. “Well, I’d hate for you to fall in the empty pool, too.”

 

“We’ll be far away in London, so no swimming pool for frogs or frog princes to get stuck in.” He reassured her, and looked around the room. “I think we’re done.”

 

Ellie looked around the empty room and started to cry. “Oh Harry, it’s so empty.”

 

He rushed to her side to comfort her. “It’s not empty, see?” He led her to a couch and sat them both down on it. “All the furniture is still here.”

 

“Yes, but all the stuff that makes it ours -everything that gives it life- is gone.”

 

“Don’t worry, we’ll bring it all back in the spring. Until then, the house is just sleeping.” Harry rubbed her back and wondered how much longer her mercurial emotions were going to last -for the next three months of her pregnancy? He hoped not.

  


After visiting Ellie’s family in Ottawa for a week, they took another long flight across the Atlantic to London, first, before heading up to Harry’s hometown to spend Christmas with his mom and sister. They arrived after dark, so as not to draw attention, and kept Ellie bundled up to hide the baby-bump in case someone should catch a glimpse of them (though, at seven months, it was getting harder to hide it).

 

“Oh, look at you!” Anne gushed at Ellie when she removed her layers of scarves and jackets. Anne pulled her daughter in law into a hug. “And look at you, pumpkin!” She said to the baby. “We can’t wait to meet you, dear - but take your time, no rush!”

 

“No, I’d be happy if he hurried up a bit. You sure the due date is in February, and not January? Or, even right now, maybe?” Ellie joked exasperatedly. “Is it really going to get bigger?” She looked down at the ever-growing baby bump. “I look like a whale.”

 

“No you don’t, luv.” Harry wrapped his arm around her side and kissed her cheek.

 

“I know exactly how you feel, honey. In fact, I have something to show you.” Anne’s face lit up as she remembered something. “I’ll be right back.”

 

“Okay…” Gemma laughed as Anne rushed upstairs to look for whatever it was. “Anyway, would you like something to eat?”

 

“Yes, we’re starving,” Ellie answered, and followed Gemma to the kitchen while Harry brought their suitcases upstairs.

 

“So, by ‘we’ you meant you and the baby?” Gemma laughed.

 

“Of course,” Ellie smirked and grabbed a Christmas cookie. “He’s always hungry, since he’s growing so fast and moves around all the time. I’m so ready to be done with this!”

  
“So, some people say they love being pregnant, and it’s so magical and what not; I’m guessing you’re not one of those people?” Gemma asked and watched Ellie grab another cookie.

 

Ellie emphatically shook her head ‘no’ as she finished eating. “Fuck no. The morning sickness, feet swelling, weight gain, food cravings, always having to pee, not being able to play hockey,” Ellie paused dramatically after the last point for emphasis. “Yeah, no thanks. I mean, of course it’s magical and all, but I certainly wouldn’t say that I like it. It’s all about the end goal, really.”

 

“Right, Gemma agreed. “Speaking of the ‘end goal’, I noticed you refer to it as a ‘he’, but  Harry’s always called it a ‘she’...so you guys don’t know yet?”

 

“No, it’s something we both wanted to wait to find out, I think.”

 

“I recall that it was your idea,” Harry interjected as he emerged in the kitchen. “But, I’d do whatever you wanted, princess.” He wrapped Ellie in a hug and kissed her on the forehead.

 

“You would? Do you want to have the baby for me?” Ellie joked.

 

“I would if I could,” he smiled. “But instead, I’m right here with you the whole way.”

 

“I found it!” Anne gleefully announced as she entered the kitchen. She held out a picture for the three to look at. “Christmas, 1993 - 25 years ago.”

 

“Look, there’s me!” Gemma excitedly pointed herself out. “Back when I was an only child,” she added mock teasingly.

 

Ellie and Harry looked over the image of his parents and sister posed in front of the Christmas tree, his mom seven months pregnant with him.

 

“You look much better at this stage than I did,” Anne said to Ellie. “Though, back then we had the ugliest maternity clothes,” Anne laughed.

 

“I love that you and dad are wearing matching jumpers,” Harry pointed out.

 

“Do you? Because, well, I was going to give you these tomorrow, but I got us all matching Christmas jumpers!” Anne smiled, and left to get their presents. “I’d hoped we could recreate that picture with you guys.” She explained when she returned and handed them their presents.

 

“This is so cute!” Gemma explained, the first to get her’s open.

 

“Does it fit?” Anne asked, and Gemma slipped it on over her head. The sweater was red, with a green, decorated, Christmas tree on the front.

 

“Perfectly, and it looks lovely, mum, thanks,” Gemma kissed her as Harry and Ellie got theirs on.

 

“It’s a little tight across the middle,” Ellie laughed, and Harry helped her pull the shirt down over the baby bump.

 

“Still looks good, though - the tree isn’t all stretched out or anything,” Harry commented. “Actually, I think it looks better this way,” he smiled to himself.

 

“You all look so nice in your matching jumpers!” Anne grinned, and grabbed her camera. “Now, let’s all get in front of the tree and we’ll take a group picture.”

 

“Hopefully you can get the timer to work this time, mum,” Gemma teased, “or we’ll have to ask the neighbor to take the picture again.”

 

“I got it, don’t worry,” Anne ressured, and rushed to join them in front of the tree. “Everyone smile!” After the camera flashed, she checked to see how the picture turned out. “Let’s do one more, okay? And Ellie, can you turn a little bit? You can hardly tell you’re even pregnant from that angle.”

 

“Really?” Ellie could hardly believe that, since she felt it was obvious from any angle, but turned a bit to the left.

 

“Much better, dear; okay let’s try this again. Smile!” Anne came back to pose with them, standing next to Gemma, with Harry and Ellie on the other side of the tree.

 

“Let’s see how this looks.” Gemma checked the camera with Anne, and Harry and Ellie joined in too, curious to see how it had turned out.

 

“That’s perfect,” Anne cooed, and thought she might get emotional again.

 

“Can you send that picture to me?” Harry asked, and Anne nodded. “We’re heading up to bed now, we’ve had a long day of traveling.”

 

“Same here - it’s nearly my bedtime anyway,” Anne replied and yawned.

 

As Harry and Ellie changed into their pajamas, Harry’s phone buzzed with the picture. He paused, halfway undressed, and looked at the picture pensively for a long while - so long that Ellie came over to look at it too.

 

“Harry!” She nearly shrieked. He had uploaded the image on Instagram, ready to post, with a caption drafted: ‘All dressed up like a Christmas tree...This year, I’ve got something extra special under the tree (though I’m more likely to get it for my birthday). Merry Christmas from the Styles-Wilson family!’

 

Ellie stared in shock. She didn’t want to admit it, but it was clever the way the Christmas tree on the sweater lined up over the baby, so it was ‘under’ the tree. “Do you really want to go public with it now?”

 

Harry shrugged. “Why not? You now I’ve been dying to tell the whole world ever since we first found out. By now, we know it’s actually, you know, happening.”

 

“Maybe not, it could still...never mind.” Ellie shook her head and tried to think of another reason not to do it, but her mind was coming up blank. “You’re shirtless, I can’t think straight.” She shook her head and wondered if he’d done that on purpose.  

 

Harry laughed, and slipped on a shirt. “They’re going to find out anyway, and it’s getting harder to hide,” Harry smirked and gave her tummy a light nudge. “Besides, it’s Christmas, and the fans will love it.”

 

“Right, the fans,” Ellie sighed and sat down on the bed. Sometimes his fans felt like an extended part of their family - they had to be taken into account whenever they did something, and kept up to date on all the details or they’d get antsy. She looked over the picture again, and couldn’t help but admit it was a really nice family photo, and the perfect way to break the news. “Okay.”

  
“Okay?” Harry grinned.

 

“As long as it’s okay with Jeff, your PR team, whomever…” Ellie sighed.

 

“I texted Jeff, he thinks it’s brilliant and said the fans will love it. Especially with the second album coming out soon, this is the kind of press we need.”

 

Ellie slightly grimaced at the mention of the press. Why did their baby have to make the news? Because people care, she reminded herself. “Okay, let’s do it!”

 

With that, Harry hit ‘post’, and the image went viral within minutes.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve had half of this chapter written for so long, then I got stuck! Then I got the Christmas idea, and it took off from there.
> 
> Also, I’m reusing a chapter title from ‘Harry Who?’, if you noticed ; )
> 
> Side note, I’m maybe, possibly, starting a Niall fanfic soon, so if you’re interested, keep an eye out for that. 
> 
> I also started a beta reading blog on tumblr, with some writing tips and other things, if anyone’s interested (and I beta read, if anyone’s looking for one!): https://betareaderlibrarian.tumblr.com/
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for reading, commenting, and voting!! : D
> 
> (and sorry for the long wait between chapters!)


	16. Harry, Ellie, and a Birthday (or Two!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter! :D

Ellie brought the last few plates to the kitchen, and put the half-eaten birthday cake in the refrigerator. Her cat Cheddar purred and rubbed against her leg, hoping to get a piece of cake for herself, but Ellie only smiled and shook her head at the kitty. Harry giggling in the other room drew her back to him.

 

“What’s so funny?” She asked as she entered the living room and tilted her head at him.

 

He glanced up at her from the couch where he sat near his opened birthday gifts, one of which was in his hand. He held it up and grinned enthusiastically. “This book of dad jokes is, I dare say, probably funnier than it was meant to be.”

 

“I guess your inner dad is coming out. Aren’t dad jokes supposed to be lame?” Ellie asked, and joined him on the couch.

 

“Yes, and they are, but -just listen to this one: what do you call a man with a rubber toe?” He paused and glanced at Ellie with an amused smirk. “Roberto!”

 

Ellie smiled politely and laughed quietly. “Okay, that’s clever; what else have you got?” Ellie asked, now intrigued.

 

“Okay, umm…” Harry flipped through the pages to find a good joke, eager to make Ellie laugh again as she had been a bit down in spirits with the physical constraints of pregnancy. “Why did the invisible man turn down the job? He couldn’t see himself doing it.”

 

Ellie bit her lips and shook her head. “Sorry, you’ve missed the mark on that one.”

 

“Okay, I can do better, let me find one…” Harry quickly read through the jokes until he settled on one. “Okay, this one’s bad - but in a good way. Want to hear to hear a joke about paper? Nevermind, it’s tearable.”

 

“Really?” Ellie shook her head again, smiling at Harry’s effort.

 

“Okay, how about this one: how do you make holy water? You boil the hell out of it.” Harry grinned, and turned to watch Ellie’s reaction.

 

She bit her lip as corners of her mouth curved upward, until she broke out laughing. “Okay, that’s actually kind of funny,” she said between laughs. “God, I can barely catch my breath,” she said, continuing to laugh -far more than Harry expected. “Oh shit.” Ellie stopped laughing suddenly and her face paled as it lost the cheery glow of laughter. She placed her hand on her stomach and slowly raised her eyes to meet Harry.

 

“What is it?” He asked and dropped the book to put his arm around her.

 

“Either I’ve accidentally wet myself, or,” she swallowed. “Or my water broke.”

 

Nothing in their months of preparations seemed to help Harry in this moment. He jumped off the couch and looked around the room, frantically picking up random things and putting them down again. “Okay, we need -no we don’t need that- we need the, um the stuff - the things!” He looked back at Ellie only to find her laughing.

 

“Calm down Harry, I don’t think we’re in any hurry. If anything, we should get the couch cleaned up first.” She said and slowly, carefully stood up.

 

“Fuck the couch, we’ll just get a new one.” Harry said bluntly. “We have to get you to the hospital.”

 

“Just because my water broke doesn’t mean the baby’s going to pop out any second -that’s not how it works. We need to time the contractions, and when they’re close enough together, then we can go.” Ellie explained calmly - which surprised even herself. Perhaps because Harry was freaking out, she found it easier to remain calm.

 

“You’re having contractions??” Harry gasped and moved closer to Ellie. “Sit down, you shouldn’t be on your feet - probably?” He exasperatedly said and sat her back on the couch.

 

“Harry, the couch is all wet,” she scooted over to a dryer section of the couch, “and yes, that’s probably what caused my water to break. I’ve been having little tremors all afternoon.”

 

“Tremors? What?? Why didn’t you tell me?” He sat next to her and felt like he was going to pass out.

 

“Because it’s nothing; the doctor said little tremors like that is normal at this stage.”

 

“But your water broke?” Harry repeated like a broken record.

 

“It’s fine, Harry, we have plenty of time to-” Ellie froze, and her sharp intake of breath caused Harry to reach for his phone.

 

“Okay, that’s a contraction, I’m marking it on the contraction app,” he said, and opened the app for keeping track of the time between contractions.

 

“It’s nothing, just a tremor,” Ellie tried to calmly shake it off.

 

“Ellie, it wasn’t nothing - I know you better than that,” he said, and watched her carefully. “When was the last ‘tremor’?”

 

“When my water broke, but it was nothing, really.” She took a deep breath and started to lose that calm front she had been putting up while Harry was frantic. Instead, he was now somehow the responsible one, while Ellie mentally freaked out.

 

Harry shook his head and stood up. “Ellie, we need to get you to the hospital.”

 

“No, I’m not ready!” She suddenly wailed, and Harry instantly returned to her side.

 

“It’s fine Ellie, we know what we’re doing, we’ve prepared for this.” He stroked her hair and tried to calm her down.

 

“I’m not ready to be a mom,” she quietly squeaked between sobs.

 

“You already are, Ell, and you have been for the past nine months, or so. You’re doing fantastic, and you’ll be a wonderful mom once she’s born.” Harry smiled encouragingly. “Okay?”

 

She shook her head, determined to stay put, but a much stronger contraction wracked through her body and a shriek of pain left her lips before she could stop it.

 

“We’re going now, I’ll carry you if I have to.” Harry stood up and held his hand out to help her up, but she wouldn’t move. “Alright, guess I’m carrying you.” He smirked and bent to lift her.

 

“No, you’ll hurt yourself - I’m massive!” Ellie protested, but Harry got  his arms securely around her and hoisted her up, carrying her bridal style out the front door.

 

“Harry, this is unnecessary,” Ellie again protested as the drove frantically to the hospital. “Could you at least slow down? I’m in no risk of having the baby right here. This thing’s probably not coming out for hours,” she said looking down at her stomach and placed a hand on either side of it. The baby was very active under her fingertips, as if he or she was excited about what was to come. This made Ellie nervous, but also filled her with an enraptured kind of elation for what was to come. She was finally going to meet this tiny human who had been living with her for for the past nine months, growing a connection, a bond, like no other. Today, she was finally going to meet her child.

 

* * *

 

“Where’s my mom? Harry?” Ellie called out and whipped her head around to find him.

 

“I’m right here, luv,” he cooed, and sat up. “Your mum will be here soon; your parents hopped on the first flight they could when they heard the news. My mom and Gems are here in the waiting room - I can get them now that you’re awake?”

 

“Awake?” Ellie looked around in confusion. She didn’t realize she had even fallen asleep. Had she been dreaming? She looked down, but of course, it was still there.  _ ‘Okay, so I haven’t had the baby yet…’ _ She tried to focus her thoughts, but nothing made sense. “How long have we been here?”

 

“About, uh,” Harry checked the time on his phone, “eight or nine hours. I’ll let the doctor know you’re awake.” 

 

Just as he stood up, a nurse came in to check on Ellie. “You’re awake! Lovely, I’ll let Dr. Allen know,” the nurse said as he checked some of Ellie’s vitals. 

 

A few minutes after the nurse left, Dr. Allen arrived. “How are you feeling, Ellie?” She asked, and sat down at the foot of the bed. “Can you open up, so I can check to see how far you’ve dilated?”

 

Ellie did as told and tried to answer the question. How was she feeling? Confused. Scared. Lost. “I’m not sure,” she finally said.

 

“That’s to be expected after the medication we gave you.” The doctor calmly explained, and removed her gloves as she finished up her inspection. “You’re still at eight centimeters.”

 

Harry seemed to react to this, but Ellie didn’t quite understand. “Medication? I thought we decided not to use any kind of pain medicine?” She looked at Harry with wide eyes.

 

“It’s not pain medication, luv,” he said, but looked to the doctor for a better explanation.

 

“You experienced a small seizure soon after arriving at the hospital. We thought it would be safer to put you to sleep for a while until we could find the cause of the seizure, and determine if we needed to perform a c-section or if it would be safe to continue with a natural birth.” Dr. Allen calmly explained, just a hint of worry creasing her brows. “We are not sure the cause, but it might be due to stress, or perhaps from the head injury you sustained playing hockey. It could have been a one time incident, but we cannot be sure.”

 

“So, do you think we can continue now?” Harry asked, more than a hint of worry in his tone.

 

“You haven’t had another seizure since you arrived, and your vitals look okay. As long as you are feeling okay, then it is up to you how you would like to proceed. We can wait for you to reach ten centimeters and you can continue with a natural birth, or we can perform a c-section. It is up to you and how you are feeling.” Dr. Allen looked between Harry and Ellie, and decided to give them a moment to talk.

 

“Ellie,” Harry said in a tone that said the choice was obvious. “It’s up to you, but I think we should go with the c-section. It’s safe, the doctor practically said it.”

 

“She did not, and you know how much I wanted to do this naturally. My mom’s doctor tried to get her to have a c-section when my brother and I were born, because we’re twins, but she was determined to go through it the old fashioned way. And so am I,” Ellie added.

 

“Elloise, my love, you are so strong, you have been through a lot, and you are stubborn -and I love you for that- but no one would think less of you if chose the safer option. You are exhausted, don’t put yourself through this, don’t risk it.” Harry pleaded, his tired eyes losing their glint of happiness.

 

Ellie’s mind was still clouded with sleep and she stared blankly at the wall behind Harry’s head. “When will my mom be here?”

 

Harry checked his phone. “I think their plane should be landing soon. I’ll send someone to fetch them from Heathrow.”

 

“I’ll just sleep for now,” Ellie mumbled as she closed her eyes, and Harry stepped out to make a phone call.

 

* * *

 

“Ellie, Ellie wake up!” Harry shook her shoulder.

 

“What’s happened?” She blinked her eyes open, still heavy with drug-induced sleep. She saw Harry’s face streaming with tears and feared the worse, until her ears were pierced with the sound of a baby’s cry. Ellie’s eyes shot open, her mind now cleared of any tiredness. “Oh! Is it, is it okay?”

 

“Yes, she’s very healthy,” Harry gushed and blinked tears away as he looked down at his daughter in his arms.

 

“Oh you were right, it was a girl after all,” Ellie smiled, and thought her heart would explode with happiness seeing her husband hold their newborn daughter. He leaned over Ellie to hand the baby to her. “You want me to hold her?” 

 

“She’s your daughter, after all.” Harry laughed, and Ellie struggled to move her arms up to hold her.

 

“My arms still feel like rubber from sleeping,” she complained, but held them out toward the baby anyway. Harry placed her in Ellie’s arms, and smiled down at his wife and daughter. “What happened?”

 

“You had another seizure after you went back to sleep,” Harry answered solemnly. “Dr. Allen, and I, thought we should go through with the c-section. She thought it were best you remained asleep, so we didn’t wake you until after - just now. It all happened very quickly, I’m sorry,” he shook his head.

 

“Don’t be sorry, Harry, it was probably the best choice. And honestly I don’t care.” Ellie laughed and looked down at her baby. “She’s healthy, and that’s all that matters.”

 

“Indeed, it is.” Harry leaned over to kiss her cheek. “A happy, healthy, baby Rhiannon Styles.”   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I waited until quite literally the last possible moment to reveal her name (just for fun!). I’ve had the idea for a while to name her after one of my favorite Fleetwood Mac songs, since it seemed fitting for Harry.
> 
>  
> 
> This is also, unfortunately, the end of this book. I do have an idea for a sequel (a third in the trilogy) but it will be verrry different. I’m not sure if I’ll have time to write it, but if I do I’ll post another chapter to this story with a link to it.
> 
>  
> 
> I’m also thinking of starting a Niall fic, and I’m currently writing a 5SOS 1920’s AU (it’s been fun so far!) if anyone’s interested.
> 
>  
> 
> Thank you for reading this story, I hope you all enjoyed it! I am so thankful for all my readers, and I appreciate the votes and comments you’ve all left <3
> 
>  
> 
> Ps. I had forgotten about her cat, so I had to include her in this chapter!


	17. Book 3

Book 3 is now available!

Check it out:[ https://archiveofourown.org/works/17803289/chapters/42003788](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17803289/chapters/42003788)

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading and commenting! : )


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